True Beauty

TODAY'S READING: 1 Peter 3:1-7; 1 Samuel 16:7
Our society places a lot of emphasis on the outside. What does your house look like? What does you car look like? How do you dress? What do you look like?
God calls us to look deeper. This body we live in is just a temporary shell. It is rental property. We should take care of it, but is not what is really important. If my house were on fire, I would worry a lot more about the lives inside than the house itself. That is the same way we should treat our bodies. The life on the inside is much more important.
God measures our value by who we are on the inside. He knows that true, lasting beauty is found in who we are. Here are the lyrics to one of my favorite songs, "The Measure of a Man" by 4Him:

This world can analyze and size you up
And throw you on the scales
They can IQ you and run you through
Their rigorous details
They can do their best to rate you
And they'll place you on their charts
And then back it up with scientific smarts
But there's more to what your worth
Than what their human eyes can see

CHORUS
Oh I say the measure of a man
Is not how tall you stand
How wealthy or intelligent you are
Cause I found out the measure of a man
God knows and understands
For He looks inside to the bottom of your heart
And what's in the heart defines
The measure of a man

Well you can doubt your worth
And search for who you are and where you stand
But God made you in His image
When He formed you in his hands
And He looks at you with mercy
And He sees you through His love
You're His child and that will always be enough
For there's more to what you're worth
Than you could ever comprehend

CHORUS

BRIDGE
You can spend your life pursuing physical perfection
There is so much more, more than ever meets the eye
For God looks through the surface
And He defines your worth by, what is on the inside

How do you measure beauty? And what do you allow to impact how you think about yourself? God calls us to look beyond the outward appearance and seek a deeper significance. There are companies that make millions - if not billions - of dollars as we seek to hide our inner struggles with outward "beauty." We use so many things to hide the real hurt and pain that is inside each of us.
But when we can allow God to shape us into the beautiful people He wants us to be, we will need to cover up less and less. And then our Spirit-shaped soul will shine out for all to see. Is it time for you to have a spiritual extreme makeover and focus on the beauty that really matters?

shine!
Jason