Beautiful God
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Romans 10:13-15
"Every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved." But how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how can men preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!"
I am not drop-dead gorgeous. Never was. Never will be. I’m not beautiful in any traditional sense of the word. Of course, my husband thinks I’m beautiful. He tells me so often, too. And he means it. That kind of love transcends physical qualities. I am truly blessed to be loved in that way. That’s why I was surprised a few years ago at a youth function when one of the very attractive teenage girls, after an ice-breaker exercise where we were paired up, introduced me as “the beautiful . . .” Wow. I’m pretty sure she wasn’t saying I have that traditional model-like beauty! I imagine/hope what she saw in me was the beauty of my heart. The glow that must surely emanate when I talk about Jesus. The “retouched image” of one who has wonderfully good news to share.
When you love Jesus so much that you can’t help but hum in the hallways at work, and sing along with the music playing in your car, and begin to evaluate and plan your life around your mission as a disciple of Christ, that’s beautiful. Genuine love for children—the kind that makes your eyes dance and your whole face light up – that’s beautiful. And that’s the kind of beauty Paul is talking about in this passage from Romans. Everyone needs to hear words of hope and encouragement! Everyone needs to hear The Good News of the Risen Christ. Remember my friend who says he thinks Jesus is irresistible – and he glows when he says it – whenever he really gets going on the topic of Jesus, you can feel the air around him change. That's beautiful.
How can others be saved if we don’t share the Good News with them? It is more than a responsibility—it is our mission. We are the disciples and the apostles of this current day. We risk no more than those early preachers. In fact, we risk far less. They were hunted down and killed! How will others believe if they have never heard? Our response to our own salvation is to tell others about this marvelous, unspeakably gracious, beautiful God who sent his humble, strong, loving and beautiful son to earth to preach the Good News!
I’m using a lot of exclamation points today. Editors will tell you that’s not a good idea – too overdone. There are just some topics, though that require them! And this is one: We are all saved because of the blood of Jesus. In gratitude for our own salvation, we share the Good News with others. That’s it. Spread the Good News of the Risen Christ, in word, in deed, and in how you live your life. You will be unspeakably beautiful when you wrap yourself in that message.
My prayer today is that you preach the Good News everywhere you go. And that you see the beautiful creation God thought up long ago when you look in the mirror.
Mary
