Jesus Christ came to this earth in lowliness. He didn't come in robes of purple with a golden crown on His head. He didn't come riding in a chariot pulled by the finest horses. He came as a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger. No royalty. No beauty. Isaiah 53:2 states that Jesus "hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him." His physical appearance didn't seem too attractive. I believe that this was so that people would go to Him in faith and not be so focused on His outward appearance. "He is despised and rejected of men" (Isaiah 53:3). Jesus wasn't welcomed my many - people didn't seem to like Him much, you know, since they wanted to kill Him and all (John 10:31, Luke 23:21, etc). How can we possibly find beauty in Someone that was unwanted by many people and lacking in physical appearance? First of all, we mustn't be shallow. Second of all, we must see Jesus for Who He is and what He has done for us. God placed our sin and wickedness upon the shoulders of His own dear Son. Christ was tortured in place of us. He was completely innocent - not one speck of guilt was found in Him, yet He took every ounce of punishment that you and I rightly deserve. That holy wrath of God should have been aimed at us. Actually, it was aimed at us...but Jesus stepped in to intercede on our behalf. He took the filthy rags of wickedness and iniquity off of our backs and switched them with His own spotless robe of holiness and righteousness. God punished His own perfect Son in our place. What love! What beauty! This is the beauty that we can find in Christ Jesus! He's so beautiful simply because of Who He is - the Son of God, the Messiah, the Spotless Lamb, the Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. This was all part of the Father's divine plan. Thank the Lord for salvation! True beauty is found in Christ - nothing on this earth can even compare to Him. He's done so much for us; let's surrender all and live for Him. Praise the beautiful Savior of the world!
Now that we've found how incredibly beautiful Christ is, let's love Him as we should! In fact, we're commanded to love Him - "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment" (Mark 12:30). If we love God as we should then all the other commandments will fall into place. Let's truthfully say with the psalmist this one simple phrase: "I love the Lord" (Psalm 116:1). Are you truly and completely in love with the Lord or do you just think He's 'kinda nice'? He is glorious and majestic and loving and gracious and merciful and forgiving and pure and holy and righteous. What's not to love? He is love... "God is love" (1 John 4:8). Let's praise His glorious Name!!
Happy Valentine's Day!