When someone says that a person has "inner beauty" what does that mean to you? Is it a compliment? Would you rather be known for having inner beauty, or external/outer beauty? If you really stop and think and are honest with yourself - which is truly more important to you? If you're not sure, here's a hint - what do you spend the most time cultivating? Your inner beauty? Or your external self?
I'll tell you what God looks at - your inner self. Not the organs, muscles, etc - but your heart and your head - how you think, feel and act. In 1 Samuel 16:7, he says ".... The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." While your outward appearance is special and important - after all, he created you and thinks you are beautiful, just as you are - we shouldn't spend all our time perfecting something that will deteriorate and neglect the spirit, which is eternal.
When you become a Christ follower, the Holy Spirit dwells in you - you have the Spirit of God with you at all times! When you cultivate that relationship with God that comes with spiritual growth, you will also produce "fruit" of that same Spirit, which is really a way of saying the way you appear on the outside (the way you walk, talk, act, react, etc - things people can see or witness) reflects the beauty of who you are on the inside (because you are becoming more like Christ!) To put it another way - you know that a tree is an apple tree because you can see the apples. Without the fruit it may look similar to any other tree, but the apples show its true nature.
What, specifically, does the "fruit of the Spirit" look like? In Galatians 5:22-23 the Bible says: "But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. " Quite the list! But here's the awesome thing - unlike our physical bodies, which will decay even with our best efforts and attention - the investment in our spiritual self will only increase! So the more time you spend cultivating the fruits of the Spirit, the more you will have! It's a harvest that is always bountiful. So don't be discouraged if you feel you don't have a lot of fruit right now - the more time you spend working on being patient - the more patient you will become! Taking the time to show a kindness, however small, will make you a kinder person. Want peace in your life? You can have it! Make a conscious effort to develop peace in your own life.
How to do all these things? Well, we can't do them completely on our own - it's a Spirit thing, remember? First you must accept Christ as your personal Savior, but once you do, ask the Spirit to help you! Be intentional about your thoughts and actions. Try growing some fruit! Before you know it, people will be saying that you are a truly beautiful person.....
Next week - our final true beauty challenge - Are you really showing love to others?
May God bless you and keep you!
Robin
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