A Mysterious Sort of Beauty

Yesterday, while waiting for me to clean the baseboards so he could caulk them, my husband turned to me and said, "you look like a movie star." (I bet you didn't realize how romantic home maintenance could be.)  In response, I made a face. I was wearing no make-up, not even lip balm. My hair, which I had spent all of five seconds twisting into a hair clip several hours earlier, had gotten sweaty and wind-blown on my walk. I had not showered since said walk and was wearing paint-splattered walking pants and an old t-shirt. Oh, and I was holding a dust mop.

It was clear, however, that he was serious, and my husband is not a flatterer. He answered my "yeah, right" face with a simple nod of confirmation. It was enough to make me turn to get a glimpse of myself in the hall mirror. I made a face again, this time at my own reflection. "Do you mean like a movie star playing a deranged housewife?" I asked. "No," he said firmly, "you look beautiful." Protesting, I ticked off all the things that made that impossible, but he would not be deterred. In the end, all I could do was laugh and wonder what he sees. I can only guess it's something that flows from his love for me.

I often have similar conversations with God.

He calls me "beautiful" and says I am "dearly loved," and I pull a face. I point out my imperfections and my flaws, and He tells me I am "holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation."  I frown over my lackluster attempts at service and mundane offerings marred with mistakes and inadequacies. In response, He insists He delights in me. I grieve over my sin-stained clothing, but He assures me that He has "arrayed me in a robe of righteousness." I tell Him I am unworthy, and He replies, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness."*

How can this be? It's a mystery I may never fully understand, but it flows from His love. His love that sought me out, rebel that I was. His love that provided a way of redemption and reconciliation. His love that bore my sins and, in exchange, imputed the righteousness of Christ  to me. His love that looks on me and sees the perfection of Christ.

If you are in Christ, all of this is true of you too. You are more than forgiven; you are righteous, holy, and pure. You are the beloved of the Creator God, and you are beautiful.

"The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." -Zephaniah 3:17

*Song of Solomon 4:7, Colossians 3:12, Colossians 1 :22, Zephaniah 3:17, Isaiah 61:10, Jeremiah 31:3