This month’s ping homily focuses on the idea of “beauty.” Instead of delving into the philosophical nuances surrounding the concept of beauty which would necessitate phrases like, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” I’d like to go right to the Scriptures. Here’s a quote from the first chapter of the book of Genesis.
26Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
All of us, each one, is made in the very image of God. This makes each person a beautiful being by default. I’m not talking about shallow physical beauty though; I’m talking about true beauty, inner beauty. After all, isn’t it true that people like Britney Spears or Colin Farrell (beautiful as they are) had virtually no input as to what they would physically look like? It was mostly luck of the draw that gave them the physical features they possess.
I once heard it said that a beautiful young person is a freak of nature but a beautiful old person is a work of art. I like to think of that in terms of shallow physical beauty versus true and lasting inner beauty, beauty of self.
We are all beautiful, whether we choose to accept that beauty or deny it however, is a matter of personal choice. Do you accept your beauty? Can you accept your beauty? Or do you continually berate yourself, telling yourself that you’re unlovely? It’s a lie … really, it is. It’s a lie that will rob you of joy, of peace and of love. Each of you reading these words is beautiful in the truest sense of the word; embrace it and begin to live more fully.
