Looking for beauty in the ugliness

Why is it that we always look at suffering as a bad thing?

Why do we seem to look down on things that are called “ugly?”

People spend thousands of dollars to fix their teeth or for plastic surgery. Women will spend a long time in front of the mirror putting on make-up. We will go to great lengths to remove all of the ugliness from our life.

However, it’s not just physical ugliness we try to hide. In the weeks leading up to Super Bowl XL in Detroit, the local authorities went to great lengths to remove the homeless from the streets.

This is a mystery to me. Why do we spend so much on superficial changes? Why wouldn't we allow God to use the “ugliness” of suffering to redeem people’s situations and lives? Rather, we will avoid the opportunities suffering provides.

Suffering can be a beautiful thing. Sure, it may not be pretty or sharp-looking, but it can bring about a beautiful outcome.

Suffering is often what reveals the nature and character of God. Some of the most beautiful faith I have seen emerges from the lives of those whose lives look ugly to the world.

Jesus never looked for the people with pretty lives. He would seek those whose lives were immersed in suffering. The woman at the well who was married numerous times. The woman caught in adultery. The short tax collector that most people probably despised. The zealot who was always looking for a religious war.

Jesus never seemed to see suffering as ugly. He looked at it as an opportunity for the dream of God to emerge onto the scene.

How would the world be different if we could stop looking at suffering as a bad thing, and instead, look for the ways God can use us in the midst of that suffering to bring about good?

shine!
Jason