Beauty

Okay, guys...it's time for me to start blogging again. (Yikes.)

I wanted to start off my weekly posts by talking about something that has been on my mind a lot since I started my freshman year of college.

BEAUTY.

Yes, you read that correctly. I want to talk about beauty. This is something that a lot of (if not all) teenage girls struggle with, daily. It is truly, something that I struggle with a lot, too.

Before getting into Scripture and what God says about this topic, let me ask you: What do you think of when you hear the word 'beauty'? Popularity? Your body type? Hair? Make-up? Models? Skinny? Tall? What about when you hear the word 'ugly'? Fat? Loser? Short? Pimples? Greasy hair? Big feet? Flat chest?

What is beautiful anyway? What about ugly?

In God's world, the word 'ugly' doesn't exist. There is no such thing as 'ugliness'. We know that Satan was the most beautiful angel of all, yet he was a fallen angel.

We don't request how God makes us. We don't get to ask for blonde hair, a skinny body, or pretty eyes.  WE DIDN'T CREATE OURSELVES! That is and always will be God's job. He molds us into the people He wants us to be.

Looking in Genesis, we are told that we are made in God's image. We are made to represent Him. Genesis also explains that what God saw after making us was good. God said that we were good just the way we are in this moment.

If we look at different cultures throughout the world, we find that each culture is different in how they define beauty. Because of this, the way that culture defines beauty is arbitrary. However, it is NOT arbitrary with God. With God, if you exist, then you are beautiful.

Now, let's look in Psalm 139; verses 13 through 16.

"For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully
          made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the
           earth
     your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
     were written in your book
     before one of them came to be."

God is completely HANDS ON. He is actively engaged in his creation. God loves who and what He makes. We should respond with PRAISE because God has created us in this way. God created us with VALUE, WORTH, and BEAUTY because He chose to make you, you.

Proverbs 31:30 says:

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised."

Beauty is so, so vain. There is so much more that is more lasting and substantial than any outward beauty.

Then, there's 1 Peter 3:3-4:

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of fine jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."

Beauty is NOT skin deep. We have already seen from Proverbs that outward beauty fades. Peter tells us that the beauty that comes from a gentle and quiet spirit never fades. And God puts great value on that. He sees past all of the outward "adornment" and see straight into our hearts.

Don't let anybody tell you that you aren't beautiful. Because you are. You are beautiful in every way imaginable. If you don't believe me, believe God. Read the Song of Songs. It is a love letter from God, to us. He is telling us that we are beautiful.

Think about the beauty of a certain place that you have been. We are captivated by it. We take pictures because we don't want to look at anything else but the beauty of that place. That's exactly how it is with Jesus. We have CAPTIVATED His heart. You are His FAVORITE. He loves you. You are BEAUTIFUL in the name of Jesus.

How about a challenge to start this blog off right?

Take a piece of paper and write down all those words that you call yourself when putting yourself down. Whether it be fat, gross, loser, or just plain ugly, write them down. After writing them down, take that piece of paper and tear it up. Throw those pieces away. Your heard me. Tear them up and throw them away.

You are not what those words depict. You are beautiful and you are loved by the Father.

Read this poem:

http://www.scrapbook.com/poems/doc/31955/372.html

and know that He loves you.