“He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He had no form or splendor that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2, HCSB).
“A root out of dry ground.” Didn’t get much dryer than Nazareth. Philip told Nathanael, “We have found the one Moses wrote about…, Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!” To which Nathanael immediately voiced what I’m sure many people were thinking: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:45-46).
Isaiah 11:1 speaks more about this “young plant,” this “root out of dry ground.” He says: “Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.” Of course, He’s speaking of Jesus and His lineage through the house of David, the son of Jesse.
“He had no form or splendor that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him.” Jesus wasn’t gorgeous, nor was it likely that he was blonde and blue-eyed with pale white skin – He grew up in a hardworking carpenter’s family and spent years working with His hands, learning Joseph’s trade, helping provide for His family. He wasn’t the physically beautiful person we see depicted in paintings and movies.
May I stop right here and say that you may consider yourself one with “no form or splendor,” “no appearance that” would make you desirable. Child of God, those who came to know the true Savior fell in love with Him! And it wasn’t because of His outward looks – it was because of the irresistible inner beauty that radiated from Him.
One of the greatest struggles for women, particularly – and also for many men – is self-esteem. You’re always your worst critic, and you may see yourself as unattractive and undesirable. May I say to you first that GOD DOESN’T SEE YOU THIS WAY. And may I say to you secondly that God has a plan for your life, and if you’ll only trust Him, He will be Your Everything, with or without an earthly lifemate. Seek Him, and He will meet not only your FELT needs, but your TRUE needs.
Isaiah 40:7-8 reminds us, “The grass withers” and “the flowers fade.” Folks, if we keep on living on this ol’ earth, ain’t none of us gettin’ any younger! And while it’s important to care for our physical health, our spiritual health is even more important.
Which is precisely why Peter wrote that “Your beauty should not consist of outward things” but “instead, [it should consist of] the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very valuable in God’s eyes” (I Peter 3:3-4).
When my Aunt Syl passed away, she was well into the winter of her lifetime. Her preacher said at her funeral that in all the years that he’d pastored her church, he’d never one time heard her say a single unkind word about anyone or anything. Which means, my friends, that, in the eyes of God, my Aunt Syl was stunningly beautiful.
May this be my prayer and yours: O God, for a mouth that can only pour out kindness, and for that inward beauty that is “valuable in [your] eyes!”
No comments:
Post a Comment