Beautiful Women

Whenever I put a little extra time into my appearance, I am often asked, "Who are you dressing up for?"  I guess it shows the general confidence of men that they assume a woman is dressing up "for" them. But this is usually not the case: we want to feel pretty all the time, and attempt to dress accordingly. We dress the way we do for a purpose; and that purpose is usually not to attract men; it's to make ourselves believe we are beautiful.

Beauty is a crucial -- if not the most crucial -- concern women have. We need to be beautiful. We need to know it in our very marrow. This need is present from birth and is not changed by old age.

However, we all have deep insecurities about our lack of perfect beauty. We all know the wrinkles are coming if they haven't come yet. We know about all of our imperfections, and we know it's not going to get better. That last sentence is enough to make most women bitter and the rest of them weep.

 "ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS,

         AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS.

         THE GRASS WITHERS,

         AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF, 

    BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER "

         And this is the word which was preached to you."

            -1 Peter 1:24-25

Thus, many of us start to think that God doesn't care about beauty -- that it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. Good Christian girls know that we are supposed to care about what God cares about; therefore, if God doesn't care about our beauty, neither should we. But we can't stop ourselves from caring about our beauty.

And that is where the bitterness comes in: we become bitter at God for not caring about our beauty, for not making us more beautiful, for not deeming it worthy of His notice.
Bitterness is not necessary if we realize that God cares deeply about our beauty.

 "Your adornment must not be merely external--braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God". - 1 Peter 3:3-4

The beauty of our minds and character is deeply important to God. And, yes, God cares about your physical beauty as well, but He knows that you will be disappointed by it. He knows that it won't last. It won't last; therefore, if you put all your energy into your make-up and hair and wardrobe, what you are trying to achieve with all this dolling-up is going to make you feel sick. Either you will not be satisfied with your appearance now, or, if you are satisfied, when you lose your gorgeous-ness, you will feel like you have lost your value. Which is totally not true.

"Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments,

 but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness."

1 Timothy 2:9-10

Although our physical beauty cannot last and our stylish accessories will eventually go out of style, God offers us a beauty that cannot fade and will never go out of style. A beautiful mind that has taken every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ. A beautiful spirit at rest in her trust that God adores her. A beautiful heart strengthened by principles and devoted to the God Who loves her indefinitely.

"Fix you hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

- 1 Peter 1:13

Do you know exactly what this grace is that will be yours when Jesus comes for you? Go ahead and ask God what He has in store for you at the end of your race on this earth. Do you hope for heaven? Do you hope for your life there and imagine how wonderful it will be? You will be beautiful. And your beauty will never go away.

"Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison."

-2 Corinthians 4:16-17

As our bodies run down, an opposite process is taking place in our spirit: God is giving our hearts beauty treatments. God is making us more and more beautiful every day.
We know our time is coming:
One day, we will be beautiful far beyond all comparison.
 We will be elegant and full of grace.
Today's beauty queens will not be able to compare.