Eye of the Beholder

By Dawn Wilson –

A dear old saint was sleeping, coming out of anesthesia after some tests in the hospital. His sweet wife sat close by his bed.

Suddenly, his eyes opened and he spoke to her in slightly slurred speech, “Oh, you are so beautiful, so lovely.”

His wife smiled, deeply flattered, and stroked his hand with love as he drifted back to sleep. Sometime later, he woke up and turned to look at his doting wife.

“Hi Cutie,” he said.

“Cutie?” she said. “What happened to ‘beautiful’ and ‘lovely’?”

“I guess the drugs must be wearing off,” he said.

“Oh, you,” she said, slapping his hand, and turning away with a grin.

Ever heard the maxim: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”?

In every culture, people tend to measure themselves against unfair standards of “perfection,” defining beauty in narrow terms. Our vision of ourselves is subjective and limited; and some people grow up never recognizing or appreciating their own God-given beauty.

Just as our experiences of God’s creations are varied—consider a fragrant rose vs. a perky daisy, or enjoying majestic mountains vs. a sunset at the beach—human beings are also varied and unique. To appreciate the way God created us is to appreciate the artistry and wisdom of the Creator Himself.

I once knew a woman who was partially blind and “ordinary-looking,” according to some, but I felt she glowed with an inner strength that I so desired as a young girl. I often sat next to her, trying to capture her winsomeness and joy or learn from her vast store of wisdom. I saw beauty in her that went far deeper than appearance.

Certainly, a person can be beautiful on the outside and not so beautiful inside. The TV character Fred G. Sanford once said, “Beauty is only skin deep but ugly is to the bone.” I think his words define the core ugliness that comes from sin—a heart that turns from God, marred character and immoral conduct.

Though we are all “wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14 NIV), no one is completely beautiful this side of heaven. We all sin and are slowly falling apart until we die. We are marred images until God transforms us into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

All true, lasting beauty comes from God. “Beauty is fleeting,” the Bible says, “but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” (Proverbs 31:30 NIV). No one escapes the signs of sin and aging, but true inner beauty thrives, including character, gifts, purpose, faith and all of the spiritual graces.

When the Father sees the redeemed, He sees His Son (Colossians 3:3-4; Romans 8:1; 1 Peter 1:3; Ephesians 2:13). And make no mistake, Jesus is beautiful. God declares us chosen, special, loved, free and so many other lovely blessings of being rooted in Christ (1 Peter 2:9, 1 John 3:1; Ephesians 1:3; John 8:36).

The faithful Christian’s desire will be to reflect Christ now and throughout eternity. “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2 ESV). Though declared righteous in Christ, someday we will be perfected in Him, just as our Creator intended.

Truly, “in the eye of the beholder”—as we gaze on Jesus—we will be changed.