Beautiful

I've sort of had a problem with this whole "bride of Christ" thing.  I'm a middle-aged man who is overweight.  I've seen brides, and they are indeed beautiful, but I cannot imagine being one. And, the last thing I would ever think I am is beautiful.

There is a Casting Crowns song called "Wedding Day", and the chorus goes like this:

"When Someone dries your tears, when Someone wins your heart, and says you're beautiful, when you don't know you are..."

I can relate to this, because I don't think of myself as beautiful, and there have been and are so many times when I know that I am not.

There are so many facets of beautiful in this world.  The physically attractive, the "beautiful souls" in this world...  beauty is subjective, and usually focuses on the physicial.

But, there are people like Lizzie Velasquez out there.  If you haven't heard of her, she has a rare disorder where she cannot keep any weight on (yep, I've thought in the past that this is a blessing, not a curse, but I've learned otherwise through Lizzie). There are saints like Mother Theresa that exhude beauty through their love and care. 

And then, there is this image of Jesus that I have as He is being crucified.  It's not beautiful. Do a google on "actors that have played Jesus", you'll get quite a list, the one that comes to my mind is Jim Caviezel in "The Passion of the Christ". 

If you look at the images we have of Jesus, pictures, statues, they are all attractive. But, the truth is that we don't know what He looked like, or whether we would think that He was physically beautiful.

I have learned that the old axiom "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is spot on.  I know my wife is the most beautiful woman on Earth.  I know this because when I behold her, I know her beauty on so many levels.  Her beauty is a fact, just like the sun will rise tomorrow.

Jesus says I'm beautiful.  And I surely do not know that I am.  But, beauty comes from love.  And Jesus loves me, not because I'm beautiful, but it is because of His love that I am beautiful. My beauty is a fact, just like the sun will rise tomorrow.

You are beautiful.  Because God loves you. And Jesus is beautiful in the eyes of this beholder, and that image of Him on the cross is the most beautiful thing I've seen, because I see His love there.