Beauty Is Fleeting

When I awoke this morning, what a beauty lay outside my window! I hope you got to see it. The snow laden trees and shrubs and fields, it was spectacular. But then, as the day began to warm and the sun made its appearance, within a very short span it was gone. Not completely gone mind you, but mostly diminished. The glory of the snow is not unlike everything else in this world. It is fleeting; ourselves included.

“‘All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.’ …” 1Pet 1:24,25

Whether it is the desire to be beautiful, or the desire to possess the beautiful one, as a culture, we are obsessed with personal outward appearance. And it seems we become more so every day. In contrast to this is the wisdom of the Bible.

“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” Proverbs 31:30

A while ago, I found this nugget in a piece of ‘junk mail’ someone had forwarded to me - “A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her.”

I was really impressed when I read that. It resonates with truth. It speaks of much more than what we call ‘inner beauty’ but it certainly includes that concept. And, as such, it reminded me of this Scripture:

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” 1 Peter 3:3-4

Here’s one more Scripture for your consideration:

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2Cor 4:16-18

As we live out our days in a world that is fading away, our culture is fixated on the temporal. That’s obvious. But what about those who would be known to love Jesus? What about you?