Think of a song or a piece of art that speaks to your soul. Recall the smell and taste of a favorite meal. Feel a cool, silk pillowcase against your cheek.  When you find pleasure in these, you’re experiencing beauty. Of course, not all beauty is man-made! What is more beautiful than a vibrant sunset, the fragrance of a rose, the sigh of the wind in the trees, the taste of salt in the sea breeze, or the feel of a toddler’s hand in yours? God himself is the consummate artist!  His beautiful handiwork was seen in the perfection of creation before it was marred by human disobedience. But even to this day the universe still carries the beauty of its Creator. Someday, that original perfection will be reinstated, but presently there is only one perfect location- Heaven. There, like Eden of old, everything the senses experience is beautiful.

Beauty, of course, transcends the physical realm of our senses. We find beauty in someone’s moral character. We delight in someone who does the right thing at great cost to themself. We enjoy seeing someone excel in their endeavors against great odds. We admire a person risking their life to save others. Isn’t this why the story of Jesus is so beautiful? He gave up his own prerogatives in Heaven to join the human race. He completed his life’s purpose despite continual opposition. He sacrificed his very life to save us from ourselves.
Beauty draws our hearts to God, and thereby gives us satisfaction and enjoyment.
What are you making that is beautiful today? Are you beautifying your character by doing the right thing today?

 

Usually beauty is a result of intention. There was a plan. A master artist approaches a blank canvas. He may be in a scenic location to capture what he sees.   He may have a model, a photograph, or a digital image that inspires him.  He sketches simple outlines before beginning to paint. He starts with an idea, even if the image takes on a life of its own and shifts as he paints. Without an initial concept, there is no starting point and no way to know when the image is finished. There is no guide, no goal. Even if he falls short of creating what he set out to, he gained experience, and a knowledge of what didn’t work. Although modern, abstract art seems random, it also does involve the choices of the artist. She chose particular colors and put them on particular areas of the canvas with certain strokes or motions. She chose when to stop. Even machine-generated art relies on a database of human-made art. (At least originally. One wonders how much machines will come to rely on machine-generated images over human-produced images and become less and less realistic and creative.)

 

 

God planned a relationship with humans even before he created mankind as a self-determining entity. He planned how he would reconcile to himself those who willfully disobeyed him. This plan demanded the death of his own Son.

The opposite of intention is randomness. Evolution elevates randomness to a creative force, leaving us as non-determining entities controlled by mindless chance. We’re carried along by non-personal forces that have no regard for our well-being, and therefore we have no choices and no responsibility. Our beginning and end are meaningless and unimportant in the big scheme of things.

God’s big plan/intention is to bring us close to himself. After we put our trust in Jesus, God calls us to daily obedience so he can fulfill his good plan for our personal lives, making us the best possible version of ourselves for his glory.
What’s your plan for tomorrow? Does it involve obedience and working for God’s kingdom?

Order is another component of beauty. BTW, uniformity is the cheap imitation of order. Machine-made objects tend to be uniform. Each one is the same as the next one. Human uniformity demands everyone dress similarly, give the same scripted responses, and give up self-governance for acceptance into a group controlled by the few. God’s way is order in variety. Each leaf is similar to others on the same plant, yet unique. Together they form a beautiful plant. Each snowflake is similar to others, yet unique. Together they form a powerful force.

God is the author of order. He wired us to function best in an orderly environment. He mercifully gave us frameworks to build orderly lives on. Leadership flows from him to appointed elders/leaders in the church. In the home, leadership flows from God to the husband as protector and provider. None of these leaders are to lord it over those they are responsible for. They are to be servant leaders, giving up their own interests for the sake of those in their care.

The opposite of order is chaos. Disobedience to God brings chaos, unnecessary complexity that exhausts us. We’re wired for order, and trying to sort out the broken pieces we’ve made by disobedience wears us out. Satan claims that having our own way will make us happy. In reality, our own sinful ways bring chaos that we weren’t built to withstand.

God’s order gives us peace and provides the best environment for accomplishing our purpose.
What aspect of your physical environment can you bring better order to today? Are you cooperating with the leadership framework in your church and family?  If you’re single, are you asking God to guide, protect, and provide for you?

Physical beauty relies on natural laws. The stars are beautiful in their order made possible by the astrophysical laws that keep them in their places with mathematical precision. When God created the universe, he set in motion natural laws that govern the heavenly bodies and the earth.

Beautiful relationships rely on moral law. The greatest two commandments in the Old Testament are to love the Lord our God, and to love our neighbor. In the New Testament, we see that is exactly what God’s Spirit helps us to do.

On the other hand, selfishness is the result of pride and opposes love. Selfishness says, ‘My needs must be met before your needs because I matter more to myself than you. I’m the judge, jury, and enforcer of what is good based on what I feel is good for me.’

However, only God’s love for us and our love for him and each other gives us fulfillment, security, and consistency. We can count on God’s love, and his help to make us loving.
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness,” God speaking in Jeremiah 31:3

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:9,11

Who needs your love today?