Beauty - by Elizabeth Reynolds

I have been thinking about beauty and what the bible has to say about beauty. Naturally I went straight to Song of Songs for ideas and I wanted to share with you a small passage that stood out to me (chapter 2, verse 10-13):

10 My beloved spoke and said to me,
“Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, come with me.
11 See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me.”

Although this is a lover speaking to his beloved, I heard the voice of God strongly in this passage. I felt encouraged that He is wanting us to leave behind the 'winter’ - spiritual troubles arising from a deep sense of the guilt of sin, the wrath of God, the curse of the law (things that would make anyone feel afraid to come to God). Jesus has removed these things from us and connected us with God's grace (flowers appearing on the earth - a time of singing).

This passage along with the rest of the book gives insight to one of the greatest mysteries in the universe - Christ's love for the church. It speaks of the intensity of God's love for us. It's a picture of God wooing you with almost a sense of desperation - He has a great desire to be with you! “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me," He says. And it doesn't have to do with how loveable you are, but instead with how loving He is! He sees so much beauty in you, He simply must have you by His side.
I pray you take encouragement from this today. That no matter how you're feeling, or what's going on right now, God finds a precious, pure, matchless beauty in you, He wants you desperately and He is calling you out of winter and into spring!