What captivates your attention? Maybe it is your favorite book or movie which rivets your attention until the very end as you are enthralled with the story. Perhaps, it is a piece of music that you especially savor as the melodious notes flow through your ears into your heart and mind giving you a sense of joy. At times, I have even found myself curiously meditating on thoughts of the future and what it may be like. Zoning everything else out, there are many times when we focus solely on the things which capture and captivate us. In a world where there are so many things vying for our attention I think it is important to stop and ask ourselves, "Are we captured and captivated by Christ?"
We all have observed the moment when a groom first sees his bride. Immediately, nothing else in the world matters as his attention is wholly absorbed in her beauty. Unfortunately, I have come to realize that I am not as gripped with exploring the depths of God's beauty and being captivated by who He is as I should be. As I have gained a better understanding of God's beauty, I have come to believe that the beginning of biblical beauty starts with a heart that is eagerly seeking to become lost in the depths of God's beauty. So without further ado, let us closely examine the foothills of God's beauty that we might become young women who are captivated by our King.
Comprehending God's Beauty:
The defining point of God's beauty is not his appearance but who He is. His character and attributes are the things that display and portray the beauty, glory and splendor of the Lord. The attibutes of God are what draw us to Him. His attributes exemplify His beauty.
I believe Paul Washer captured well the understanding of God's beauty when he said:
“Imagine collecting all
the most beautiful things that ever existed in the whole world, and
putting them in one room. Now, that would be wonderful. You could sit
there for days and just look at all the beauty. ...But now listen, If
God walked into the room...His beauty would be so great that you
would never want to look at those other beautiful things again,
because they would be ugly in comparison to God. That’s how
beautiful God is.”
-Paul
Washer
The Beauty of Christ:“For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form
or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we
should desire him.”
Isaiah 53:2
In my short lifetime I have observed many depictions of Christ. He is always cleanly dressed with a smile plastered on His face showing perfectly straight teeth poking through His nicely cut beard. This causes me to wonder, "Is that really what Jesus looked like?"
The verse above tells us that He had, "no beauty that we should desire Him." So much for a handsome Kingly figure! Wait, wasn't Christ beautiful? I believe Christ was the most beautiful person to walk on the face of this earth. However,
it wasn't because of His appearance but because of Who He was; God in
the flesh. There isn't anything more beautiful than the God of the universe wrapping a towel around His waste and washing His disciples feet; nothing more dreadfully beautiful than the picture of our Savior dying on an accursed tree for you and me. And yet, there we find the King of kings and Lord of lords, taking the place of the suffering servant so that we might be His.
Again, we see God's beauty demonstrated in the Who, not the what.
A life that is Captivated:
Is God beautiful to you? The fact that everything that makes God beautiful is
everything we are not causes the sinner to run in the opposite
direction and the saved one to be captured and captivated by this
beauty. How we respond to God's beauty gives us a glimpse into the
state of our own heart.
To
those who have been purchased by the blood of the Lamb, God's beauty
should cause us to stand in awe of Him every moment of every day. It
should be the driving force of our lives as we seek to know Him more. However, often times its not. Following Christ is something we do.
Christianity becomes a bunch of rules and restrictions driven by a
knowledge of what not to do and in the midst of all our striving we
miss the whole point; Christ's beauty. God's beauty must be our
starting point. Everything else will fall into place when we are
enthralled with His beauty because it is our pleasure to seek Him and
no longer our duty.
that I
may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
to gaze
upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his
temple.”
Psalm 27:4
Oh fellow sister, meditate on who He is! Become enthralled with learning much of your
King. Study His grace, justice, wrath, glory, patience, love and
kindness. Get in His word and come to intimately know and love Him. Above all else seek Him, His glory, His majesty, His beauty. Allow Him to become the one thing your soul desires. May you taste and see that the Lord is good and may everything else pale in comparison to Who He Is. Please take a few minutes to watch this video and grow in your love for our great and beautiful God!
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