“Take note of this – there is only one beholder whose judgement counts, and you were created in His image. Do you know what that means? That means that you are beautiful beyond measure.”
“Beauty” is defined in the Cambridge dictionary as “The quality of being pleasing, especially to look at”. Personally, I think this is a narrow view. Beauty is too high and too wide to define so simply.
You only have to browse the magazine shelves in the supermarket to see how the world generally defines beauty. The glossy, photoshopped imagery almost jumps off the pages; seducing, luring, charming, promising health and wholeness, popularity and perfection. And sometimes, I believe it. I invest in it. I offer it my time, my money, my attention. Because words can cut like a knife and carve “ugly” deep into the soul. And sometimes I can think that a moisturiser for my face is more like a balm for my heart. I can believe that the triple blade razor will smooth my rough edges. I can even be persuaded that ‘miracle hair reconstructor’ is a life builder. Sometimes, instead of using my make-up for creative expression, I wear it as a mask. It’s an exhausting pursuit and an expensive lie.
A popular saying is that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. The problem with this is that we, broken people, think that we get to decide individually what holds beauty. I hear it everywhere, and it is heart-breaking:
“I’d give her a six out of ten.”
“Oh my goodness, did you see what she was wearing?”
“You would look so much better with a fringe.”
And therein is the real ugly: the judgements, the pride, the comparisons, the competition, the jealousy, the bitterness. As we continually strive to elevate ourselves.
Take note of this – there is only one beholder whose judgement counts, and you were created in His image. Do you know what that means? That means that you are beautiful beyond measure. You are a reflection of God’s creativity, grace, and perfect love. You were crafted with great care and precision. Psalm 139 says; “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 fully 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 for me were written in your book, before one of them came to be.”
So, whether or not your teeth are straight, whether your hair is red or grey, whether you have toned skin or stretch marks, whether you are long and lean, or short and stout, your beauty is clear in the eyes of the One beholder who truly heals, blesses and builds.
