19. The most beautiful part of me is my emerging true self.
(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.)
WHAT PARTS OF GOD’S CREATION ARE YOU MOST DRAWN TO?
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE A BEAUTIFUL PERSON?
WHEN YOU LOOK IN A MIRROR, WHAT DO YOU SEE? YOUR PHYSICAL IMAGE? YOUR INNER PERSON? THE PERSON GOD SEES WHEN HE LOOKS AT YOU?
Webster defines the word “beauty” as “the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beauty). Although not every person may experience beauty in the same way, every person is intuitively attracted to beauty. Beauty has a power: it pleases us, causes us to stop and appreciate it, and perhaps even to appreciate the Creator of that beauty. There are different types of beauty that people appreciate: nature, art, music, dance, faces, and objects.
Beauty touches more than our senses: it speaks to our souls. In the story of creation, we read that after God had created everything, including humankind, “God saw what He had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31, NIV). That God’s natural creation is good and beautiful is not hard to agree with, but can we say that humanity is also good and beautiful? In Ephesians chapter four, Paul writes, You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (22-24, NIV).
We might paraphrase Paul’s instructions to say, “stop pretending, let go of the unhealthy parts of your real self, and become your true self, the beautiful person God created you to be.” Our true self is the person God had in mind when He created us. As we grow into this true self, we gain a quality that stands out as beautiful. An older woman may lose her former (physical) beauty, yet when she grows in kindness, gentleness, wisdom, self-control, joy, and love, she will have a beauty more compelling than her physical form. A grey-haired man, who has lost his youthful vigor and strength, but displays qualities like composure, loyalty, goodness, presence, and deep gift of friendship, is a beautiful person.
It typically takes a lifetime to grow into our true self; not everyone does, and no one fully becomes what they were created to be. But along the way we can see those people who rise above and give us glimpses of the beauty of their true self. A true self includes the character qualities often mentioned in the writings of Jesus and the apostles: love of neighbor, love of God, love of self, kindness, gentleness, joy, etc.,
but our true self also includes the unique way that we act out those qualities: the mother that tenderly nurtures her child, the father that wisely guides his son, the friends who faithfully encourage and guide each other, the first-grade teacher who loves her children and tirelessly works to prepare them for second grade and for life, the pastor who without complaining visits the sick, teaches his congregants the Scriptures, and graciously accepts criticism and rejection, the bus driver who cheerfully greets each traveler. The list is endless but each of these examples give us a hint of the beauty of the true self.
Our culture has many things that it admires and considers to be beautiful, but few things compare to the beauty of a person who is well on their way to becoming their true self. It is truly a very good thing that God has created.