Friday, March 30, 2007

The Beauty of Holiness

When the writer of Psalms 27:4 tells of his deep desire to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, what exactly is he talking about? Ponder this: God's beauty is related to his holiness. I must admit, when I think of beauty, the first thing that pops into my head is not 'holiness'. At least not until now. Perhaps that is about to change.

This world's way of thinking has distorted our concept of both beauty and holiness. The Bible exhorts us to "... praise God in the beauty of His holiness ..." (2 Chronicles 20:21, KJV). In another place (Exodus 15:11), the writer asks rhetorically "who is like the Lord -- majestic in holiness."

"Beautiful" and "majestic" -- both of these words imply their object is admired, appreciated, and appealing to the beholder.

God designed us to appreciate beauty. Interestingly, some religious groups associate holiness with drab, unattractive clothes. They think of beauty as worldly, and drabness as spiritual. The Bible does not support such thinking. "Consider the lilies of the field ... even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed with such splendor and beauty" (my paraphrase of Math 6:28-29).

God's holiness is manifested in His works (Psalm 145:17), in His law (Psalm 19:8-9, Romans 7:12) and at the cross.

And that is a point to ponder.

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