Mirror, Mirror

 

“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

—Proverbs 31:30

“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” We remember the wicked witch in Snow White asking that question. Very few women have the kind of beauty we often see held up as an example of perfection in our culture. And, like the above Scripture verse tells us, that beauty is fleeting. It won’t last forever.

Even in the Bible, though the writers tell of many women, they mention very few as beautiful. We know that Queen Esther had beauty and God used it for a very special purpose. Most Biblical writers do not make reference to the women in their texts by mentioning their physical appearance or exterior beauty.

Some had shrewd wisdom. Others had a notable devotion to Christ. Others show strength of character and even leadership qualities. These kind of traits—competence, intelligence, humility, charity, skill, dignity, honor—most often identify certain women in Scripture.

One of the reasons for this lack of mention of external beauty could be that God cares more for the internal beauty of people, even those He has created with all the “right” features.

We read in 1 Samuel 16: 7 of Eliab, David’s brother whom Samuel would have chosen for the next king of Israel. Of Eliab, God said:

“Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Now I am not advocating that women forget entirely about the way they look. God has given us as women a mindset that results in certain care for such things. To well represent Him, we do need to concern ourselves with cleanliness and to the taking all of the reasonable measures that lead to a modest attractiveness. But clearly, God thinks more like my mother when she said, “Pretty is as pretty does!”

Isaiah 53: 2 describes our Lord Jesus this way:

“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him.”

Even those who actually saw the most important man to ever walk the earth saw someone with no remarkable external features. His beauty came from the glory of Heaven within Him.

I like how the following hymn ¹ speaks of Jesus:

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
Robed in the blooming garb of Spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
Who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight,
And all the twinkling starry host:
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels heaven can boast.

Beautiful Savior! Lord of the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
Now and forevermore be Thine!

If we truly desire beauty, we have the perfect model to follow. The very perfection of Jesus carried the beauty that counted with His Father. Let us desire that kind of beauty for ourselves and do our best to resemble Him!

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1 Originated as an anonymous German Hymn, Münster Gesangbuch, from 1677.