Encouraging Words - Pt 5

What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 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. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man. (Ecclesiastes 3:9-13 ESV). The fifth word of encouragement is that God has made each of us beautiful. I know that as soon as you read these words you will think, “You haven’t seen me lately, have you?” Well, you’re right. However, even if I had, I would not have seen you with the eyes of God. In His eyes, he is about the business of creating beauty in each of us. And the truth is that while we often we feel awkward and unlovely; in God's eyes, he is making us beautiful. Honesty requires me to say that everything is not beautiful as it intrudes in our lives. Broken relationships, devastating illness, financial ruin, or emotional trauma are not beautiful at their face value. The bombing at the Boston Marathon has given us some of the most horrendous images imaginable. Yet, from this great tragedy some incredible good has emerged. All of us remember a photo of Jeff Bauman, both legs shredded by the blasts, being rushed away in a wheelchair. A year later, Bauman, who became a kind of folk hero in Boston, is married and expecting his first child with Erin Hurley, also a victim of the bombing. Jeff had been standing at the finish line as Erin crossed at that exact moment of the blast. He had been cheering her on at the marathon. Through a series of events they both began their recuperation and relationship with one another. Both admit they may not have met otherwise. Jeff simply says, “I am not thinking about the bombing. I’m thinking about how I can be a better Dad.” Being a double amputee has not deterred him from that beauty! This truth focuses on two important facts. First, that God's desire is for beauty; God is not interested in ugliness. Just a cursory glance at God’s work of creation should help us in this regard. Regardless of the season, beauty can be found everywhere. Though there is a difference between the vast deserts and the towering mountains, both display a part of the beauty of our world we cannot deny. Second, that you and I need patience to wait for God to bring the beauty in His own time. Of course when we talk about beauty, we do not mean the artificial glamour that the world admires. We mean the true inner beauty that reveals itself in gracious character and conduct. God's will for our lives is that we share in true beauty and as we wait for Him to work, He will bring that beauty in His own time. Artificial beauty is always available, but true beauty from God will come in God's time. We are beautiful!