I came to a realization the other day.
I realized that there is absolutely nothing inherently beautiful about me. I was born a wretched, sinful person bound for Hell. Isaiah 64:6 says, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."
We were born sinful. There is nothing beautiful in sin.
And that's where the Gospel comes in. Any single part of me that may be considered beautiful to God is because of Jesus Christ. My actions? Because Jesus Christ lives through me. My words? Because Jesus Christ speaks His words. My heart? Because Jesus Christ has taken me over. That is how I can be beautiful.
When my actions and words and heart display attitudes contrary to my Lord, it's because I'm not letting Him work in me. I'm not allowing Him in. It just shows my wretchedness.
Charles Spurgeon once said, "If a soul has any beauty, it is because Christ has endowed that soul with His own, for in ourselves we are deformed and defiled! There is no beauty in any of us but what our Lord has worked in us."
So how do I get authentic beauty? By wholeheartedly seeking and following Christ. By allowing Him to transform me. By letting go of self and clinging fully to Him. That is real beauty.
