mirror, mirror
When it comes to physical appearance, we’re constantly bombarded with advice. And truth be told, the suggestions found on magazine covers, in TV commercials, and voiced by store clerks—among other sources—bother me. They’re all trying to nudge me to pursue that perfect look.
zero hero
Birds of a feather flock together.” I’m not sure about that famous phrase. For throughout my student years I hung out with bright and beautiful people. But I don’t think I’m either. In fact, I’ve often thought: If I could be as talented or as charming as so-and-so, I would be able to draw so many people to Jesus.
second glance
Alex Eklund likes beautiful women. He believes, however, that true beauty comes from the heart and character of a woman. In fact, he says he would “rather have a Proverbs 31 wife than a Victoria’s Secret model.” He posted this comment after noticing the fallout from the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. Watching this event prompted some of his female friends to air feelings like these on Facebook: “I’m going to have to hit the gym after this” and “I’m going to starve myself for a week.”
invisible hand of God
While her mother-in-law was out of town, my friend was given the keys to her luxurious car. Later, my friend said to me, “The leather seat seems to be made just for your body shape. And the car cruises silently along the highway. Wow, such luxury is intoxicating.”
contemplate the beautiful
Edgar Allan Poe once wrote: “The pleasure which is at once the most pure, the most elevating, and the most intense, is derived, I maintain, from contemplation of the beautiful.” The purest and ultimate pleasure, then, according to the psalmist, is our contemplation of God.
David’s chief desire and longing in life was to live in the presence of Yahweh…
attractive gossip
Hazel Namandingo says that so many people have HIV and AIDS in her homeland of Malawi that singles often rely on gossip to figure out who is safe to date or marry. Accurate information can mean the difference between life and death—but as often happens when the stakes are so high, unfounded rumors start to fly. Hazel said that Malawians…
finding beauty
As we walked through a small nature preserve near our house, my son surprised me when he said, “God was pretty amazing when He made swamps.” “Really?” I responded quizzically. I was a little incredulous as to the combination of the words swamp and amazing. Pointing to the vibrant red branches of a particular plant and the tangled arms of…
no other god
In his fascinating book, Modes of Faith, Theodore Ziolkowski reviews the lives of 19th-century European writers who had lost faith in God. What Ziolkowski finds is this: While these authors had dismissed the God of the Bible, another ‘god’ had soon taken His place.
Ziolkowski found five “gods” to be most attractive to these men and their readers. Art was raised…
true beauty
Some 30,000 people recently were informed that they weren’t as attractive as they thought. This image-shattering news came courtesy of the staff of a cyber dating service for “beautiful men and women.” The staff dropped the gasping group (and their glamor shots) from its ranks because they simply didn’t make the cut. A spokesman for the site said, “We can’t…
holding back
A frustrated female investment banker had a problem with her looks. It wasn’t that she felt unattractive. Au contraire. She believed that she was too good-looking to be effective at work. Her complaint went like this: “I feel [my beauty is] holding me back. Female colleagues distrust me, while male colleagues are drawn to me but don’t take me very seriously.…
visible
With steam covering the bathroom mirror, the outline of a group of words became apparent. Trying to clear the view so I could finish getting ready for work, I had been initially surprised when the image appeared. But I smiled as I remembered why it was there. Far from a supernatural occurrence, the hidden message was the remnant of a…
art and balance
Organizers call it a “radically open art competition.” It’s also highly democratic. ArtPrize lures artists to my hometown with the possibility of winning substantial cash—if the attendees like what you create. Art aficionados can wander past hundreds of exhibits scattered throughout the city, but they can vote for only one.
Many of the works are awe-inspiring. An elaborate, multicolored ice…
beauty and glory
[caption id="attachment_8205" align="aligncenter" width="518" caption="—pic submitted by Bharathy Singaravel, India"]
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O Lord, what a variety of things You have made! In wisdom You have made them all. May the glory of the Lord continue forever! The Lord takes pleasure in all He has made! (Psalm 104:24,31).
what do you see?
You can look at a window and see its glass and frame or you can look through a window and see the mountain vista it’s there to reveal. Today’s passage is a little like that. A superficial reading will miss the beauty of all that we’re meant to understand.
On first glance we see just another healing story about Jesus—albeit…
