Inner Beauty

Over the last 6 months, I have been helping to provide 24-hour care for my Grandma. It has been such a gift for me to help care for her and spend special alone time with her so frequently! The other day when I was at my Gram's, my mom and I were sitting next to her as she was lying in bed. I was holding her hand and she was drifting in and out of sleep.

Three generations in one room.

Three women in different stages of life.

As I stroked my Gram's hand, I thought about the finality of life and how none of us can escape growing older. Our hair turns silvery, white. Wrinkles etched into our skin tell stories of the joys and sorrows we've experienced. We are all destined to be greeted by death unless the Lord returns first. Our hearts will eventually beat their last thrum and our lungs exhale their last breath. Although I think both my mom and Gram are beautiful women, I was considering a different kind of beauty the quiet room contained.

A beauty that is imperishable. eternal. untouched by death and decay.

1 Peter 3:3-4

Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

Another translation of this verse states: Your adornment must not merely be external.

I don't believe this verse is declaring we shouldn't have pretty hairstyles or wear jewelry. Instead, this verse is pointing us to the beauty that lasts forever, the beauty that will never grow old or expire.

The word gentle is the Greek word praus. We might readily think of gentle as someone who is mild, kind, or tender. This is definitely part of what this word means, but there is so much more depth to the word. Gentle means trust in God's goodness and control over a situation. Gentleness is a reliance on God rather than one's own strength.

The word quiet is the Greek word hēsychios, and it means tranquil or peaceful.

A woman who trusts God's goodness in times of uncertainty, joy, and sorrow, and trusts that He is in control of every situation, is displaying an inner beauty that is formed by the work of God in her heart. This type of beauty is very precious in God's sight.

The word precious is the Greek word polytelēs, and it means requiring great outlay and very costly.

There is so much to unpack here!

Let's begin by looking at Jesus.

Did you know the Bible gives us an idea of what Jesus' outward appearance was like?

Isaiah 53:2 b says He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. God the Father didn't think it was important to make the Savior of the world the most handsome, regal, or rich person who ever lived. He didn't want men and women drawn to the physical, outward qualities of Jesus. In fact, Hebrews 1:3 states He (Jesus) is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.

God's desire was to display His glory and nature through Jesus so that we would know His character and what kind of God He is. Do you know the two words Jesus used to describe Himself while he was here on Earth were gentle and lowly?

Matthew 11:29

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

The word gentle in this verse is the same Greek word praus.

How did Jesus display the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit?

1 Peter 2:20-24 is one passage that gives us the answer.

But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this, you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds, you have been healed.

Jesus' displayed his gentle heart by surrendering His life into the hands of His loving Father. No matter what happened, Jesus trusted that His Father was good. Jesus didn't use deceit in order to control situations. He didn't revile those who reviled HIm and attempted to label Him a villain. When He suffered, He didn't threaten those inflicting the suffering. Instead, He laid down his life for all, both friend and foe, so we could be made right with God and be set free from a life of slavish obedience to sin. He surrendered to His Father's will and accepted the punishment we deserved for our sins so that we could be healed and be made sons and daughters of God.

1 Peter 3:3-4 is inviting us to place more value on developing and displaying the qualities Jesus possessed and displayed than on our outward appearances. We are invited to focus more on the internal, imperishable qualities of beauty because those are precious in God's sight. As I stated above, the word precious means very costly and requires great outlay.

There is a two-fold meaning in this word.

Very Costly:

The development of a gentle and quiet spirit is only possible through the very costly price Jesus paid to ransom us, we can do nothing apart from Him. Our journey toward inner beauty begins with faith in Jesus and all He accomplished for us that we could not do for ourselves.

Requires Great Outlay:

The development of a gentle and quiet spirit also requires that we outlay or hand over our entire selves to God's goodness and control. Every day until our hearts beat their last thrum and our lungs exhale their last breath, we must surrender in both the good and bad circumstances of life. The development of a gentle and quiet spirit is a lifelong process. Different than outward beauty, inner beauty can increase in depth and strength with age. As our outer shells deteriorate, our inner souls and spirits can continue to grow to reflect the glory of God and His character.

The good news is, as we surrender our entire selves to our heavenly Father, He works relentlessly to transform us. As we trust Him, He faithfully does the work he loves to do, transforming our fearfulness into peace-filled confidence in Him, and our self-reliance into an acceptance-with-joy type of surrender to His control.

In the allegorical book Hinds Feet on High Places, the Shepherd, representative of Jesus, said to Much-Afraid who had come to a place in her journey of transformation that was scary and seemingly impossible: "Why, I don't know anything more exhilarating and delightful than turning weakness into strength, and fear into faith, and that which has been marred into perfection."

Sitting in silence with my Gram and mom, I beheld beauty that reflected the work of Jesus in these women's lives. Beauty, whose buds and blossoms are a result of trusting Jesus through suffering and the seemingly impossible. Beauty, that has emerged through continual re-surrendering to God's Word. I was reminded of what God values.

When everything else is stripped away-

When our bodies are broken shells,

When death eventually greets us,

What valuable treasure will be found within?

May we be men and women who value what God has deemed beautiful. May we display soul-trusting, soul-tranquil beauty that is untouched by the circumstances of our lives because our beauty is anchored in the work and character of our Savior Jesus, who demonstrated in his life and death true inner beauty.

Sincerely,

Amy