You're Beautiful.....Just as You Are

As a 51,  very soon to be 52 year old woman, whose BMI falls comfortably in the "overweight" range....living in a society where all over the television, especially this time of year, are svelte, swimsuit clad, gorgeous, 20-somethings.....I really NEEDED this weeks reminder!

I am beautiful....just the way I am!!!! Why? Simply cause GOD SAYS SO and He alone, along with His Word alone, are to be our final authority!

Now, please hear me clearly, I am not at all saying that there is anything wrong with having been endowed with the God-given gift of external beauty.....every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above....beauty included!

I suppose that what I am attempting to say here is....while external beauty is good, it is not ALL that there is to beauty....especially in God's economy....and especially if you are a child of God in Christ! God's Word reminds us that external beauty is fleeting and does not last (Proverbs 31:30) but there is a most important "type" of beauty that does last, and goes far beyond external appearance.....that is "the beauty" I want to discuss with you today, and I pray with everything in me that by the time I'm done, you'll know for certain, just how gorgeous you really are!

The first thing I want to tell you about  "the beauty" afforded us by God via Christ is that it is eternal....

As 1 Cor. 15:35-50 tells us, we shall receive new, imperishable bodies....unlike the frail human bodies we now live in, our resurrected bodies will be very different from our earthly bodies.....Yes, we will be recognizable to one another, but our bodies will be spiritual ones; full of glory and equipped to endure for all of eternity.....without any of the trappings of earthly beauty that we so often feel the need to partake of in order to feel attractive on this side of life. In other words gals, someday we're gonna receive the Ultimate makeover and NEVER have need for another one......ever again!

The second thing you should know about our beauty in Christ; is that it debunks the world's standards of beauty because it manifests from the inside-out....not the outside-in.......

2 Cor. 4:7 assures us that we have been given a great treasure which is the light of Christ shining in our hearts! This "treasure" is the supremely valuable message of salvation in Christ Jesus which God has entrusted to us to share with those around us.....

In 1 Peter 3:3 Peter admonishes Christian women, particularly wives, to not be overly concerned with outward beauty...i.e. fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry and beautiful clothes.....but rather to concern themselves with the beauty that comes from within; the unfading beauty of a quiet and gentle spirit.

Now let me say again, this does not mean that we, as Christian women, should be dowdy and frumpy. It is absolutely good for us to take care of ourselves, be good stewards of the bodies God has given us, and to look one's best, but far more important than all of that is the developing of an inner spirit of Godliness,which again.....is eternal.

The Third thing you should know about our beauty in Christ is that it is recognizable in us, now....on this side of life because those who possess it also possess wisdom and discretion.....

 Show me a beautiful woman who consistently shows no wisdom and discretion in her behavior and I will show you a woman who does not yet fully know her worth in Christ! Proverbs 11:22 instructs us that a beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like adorning a pig's snout with a gold ring! Basically,  physical attractiveness without discretion is soon discovered to be quite ugly indeed. We also need to develop our ability to think and make wise decisions.....because those two qualities will lead us and sustain us in our efforts to walk out a Godly life here on the earth....yet again, leading to eternal gains.

Again, I can't speak for you gals, but it has done my heart good to be reminded that I can be comfortable in my own skin....right now....today and always.....I'm grateful to know that I can drop, and never need pick up again, the vices of comparison and competitiveness..... I'm grateful that I can continue on in my own race and seek only to become more like Jesus and better at being me.....and the cool thing is....you can too.....because Sweet Sis, you are beautiful.....just as you are! Always have been & always will be!