Beauty: Something that Excites the Senses
Christmas is a season of beauty for me. With the name Holly, I have a particular interest in a season that exalts beauty. Beauty is the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses. A close relative to beauty is the word LOVELINESS, which even gives pleasure in speaking it aloud. Something is beautiful to us then when it excites aesthetic pleasure.
My thoughts about beauty, as with any subject, eventually lead me back to the foundation and clarity of God's Word. And so, in honor of the loveliness of the holidays, here are some very tangible ways I can say that beauty excites my senses:
Beauty speaks.
Beauty expresses itself clearly through godly character -
But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is very precious. 1 Peter 3:4 (ESV)
Beauty invites.
Beauty requests an RSVP to the opportunity of a lifetime -
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says in Zion, "Your God reigns." Isaiah 52:7 (ESV)
Beauty nourishes.
Beauty gives and gives, sacrifically, even to the point of excess -
And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor." But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you trouble this woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me." Matthew 26:8-10 (ESV)
Beauty comforts.
Beauty encourages and strengthens as it soothes, relieves and heals -
To grant to those who mourn in Zion -
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. Isaiah 61:3 (ESV)
Beauty inspires.
Beauty finds its origin in God's attributes and dwells in His presence -
Spendor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Psalm 96:6 (ESV)
Beauty is transcendent.
Beauty exists beyond our reality and ability to comprehend -
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 (ESV)
Beauty draws us to God!
Beauty entices and arouses hopes and desires -
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and inquire in His temple. Psalm 27:4 (ESV)
Beauty is not only pleasing to my mind, soul and senses, but even more importantly, it will remain for all eternity - grand, fruitful, lasting and strong - because God instituted it and maintains it. That excites me!
