A Beautiful Mind: the Last, Best Virtue

When I think of a virtue that is genuinely overlooked in the Christian world, it is appreciation of beauty. It’s why I saved the best for last in our series of Tiny Virtues for Exemplary Christian Living. Appreciation for what is beautiful is a divine quality that touches the soul in ways that words alone cannot. Think of it this way: we often exalt a study of the Word, which is important to be sure. But God didn’t create the Word. What does Scripture say? Jesus is the Word… made flesh. He was not created.

Beauty, however, is something God created for Himself, for His own pleasure, His own joy, and His own glory. Yes, God is beautiful, but His creative acts are wholly distinct from Himself. God is not creation. He is not in the trees, the flowers, the mountains, or the stars. Unlike pantheists, Christians do not believe that everything is God.

Christians believe there is God… and then there are things He made that He, frankly, didn’t have to make.

Why did God do it?

God created because He loves what is beautiful as a reflection of His glory.

How often do we think of what is beautiful in superficial ways: a pretty face, a nice outfit, a handsome hunk, high-end furniture, or a great looking car? Or maybe the lilt of the whippoorwill, the gargling sound of a wren, or the shriek of an owl? The twizzle steps of the ice skater or the elegance of a waltz? Each beautiful for what is visible or audible. But for God, beauty is deeper. It’s glory deep.

That’s why Scripture tells us that even when the earthly body of Jesus was not physically what we’d call beautiful (Isaiah 53:1-12), God’s Perfect Image bearer, Jesus Christ, had beauty that was deeper.  He’s the Son of God and yes, fully human, the Son of Man.  The Word teaches us that the beauty of any human no matter how old or young, how flawless or marred a physical body, how well dressed or ragged they look…that beauty exists because of God’s Image stamped in them.

Beyond the human, the beauty of any other created object is beautiful because of the beautiful mind in Whom it was conceived. And because of the joy He has in bringing it into being.

Psalm 27:4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: 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 seek him in his temple.

Ponder today: What is beautiful in your life? Thank God for beauty in every place you find it.

Person of the day:  Beautiful you, a reflection of love with the Made by God stamp of beauty, His Image.