Something we all need to endure living in a sin-marred world …

There’s something I would like to recommend to you that could make your life brighter, better, a little more joyful.

It’s something I think helps us as we strive to endure living in a world so horribly marred by the ugliness of sin.

You won’t find a specific passage of scripture exhorting this as directly as I’m suggesting it, although the topic is there in the Bible. My suggestion for this comes mostly from personal experience as well as seeing this embraced by others.

What is it that can lift us in dark and discouraging times?

A dose of beauty.

It was nearly 20 years ago when I personally went through one of the two most difficult and ugly times in my life. During that time, I had an opportunity to relocate to Hawaii, so I jumped for it. I still remember shortly after my arrival dropping my bags in my temporary lodging and walking about a block or so to Waikiki Beach to survey my new neighborhood. When I arrived at the beach, I gazed to my left and saw Diamond Head, the extinct volcano, rising in the background of the tropical city of high-rise buildings. Locals mingled with people from around the world on the sandy shores of Waikiki, and I was suddenly breath-taken with the astounding beauty of the scene.

I would shortly come to understand that God’s great grace was working in my life – He knew in that very difficult and ugly time for me that I needed some beauty back in my life. He supplied it in grand form! Having some beauty back in my life helped me during a time of healing and moving into an entirely new season.

The Apostle Paul encourages us to turn our minds to seeking out what is beautiful. He wrote, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise,” Philippians 4:8.

I’m a true believer that finding and keeping some beauty in our lives is an important and helpful means of enduring life in a sin-marred world. Any of us can discover beauty for our lives. Allow me to suggest just a few key sources of beauty:

In God. You simply cannot find anyone or anything as or more beautiful than God Himself. Delve into who He is, His character, and what He has done and does, and you’ll find astounding beauty. It’s a magnificent beauty that King David longed for: “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple,” Psalm 27:4. To find beauty, draw close to God and look closely at who He is.

In God’s creation. Take in the grandeur of the Grand Canyon, spend a night gazing up at the starry skies, or listen to the lulling sounds of waves lapping upon a sun-swept shore and you’ll see great beauty in what God has created. Pastor, theologian, and author, Leonard Sweet, states, “Beauty is the scent of God on the universe, a keyhole-peek of the kingdom in the here and now and a sonogram of God’s own heart.” Looking for beauty? Make time to get outdoors and enjoy nature in all its splendor.

The Church. Surprised by this suggestion? The Church is the bride of Christ, and like brides, she is beautiful! Okay, I agree the church isn’t so beautiful in times of bickering and disunity, but when the church is getting it right, when brothers and sisters in Christ are being the body of Christ the way we should be, you’ll find something of true beauty. If you’re looking for something beautiful, embed yourself deeply into a local church.

In love-based relationships. God is utterly beautiful. God also is love. And that beauty is reflected in the love-based relationships we experience. There are few things as beautiful as being loved, and loving someone. Look at this biblical description of love and see the beauty in it: “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance,” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. That’s beautiful!

In serving. There is something inherently beautiful about serving others. That’s because serving is love in action! Love is beautiful, and love in action is wildly beautiful!

In art. If you’ve ever been moved to emotion by music, inspired by a masterful painting, or intellectually and emotionally drawn into a great novel, you have experience how art can be expressions of beauty.

Let me give you one more.

Yourself. The Bible tells us God, who is utterly beautiful, created us in His image. It also declares this: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago,” Ephesians 2:10. YOU are a beautiful masterpiece of God … don’t forget that! God has made something beautiful in you, and maintaining some beauty in your life might help you remember you are a part of the beauty in this world.

Scotty