You are So Beautiful

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Dead of Winter

The dead of winter. Windows down, shorts, a comfy T-shirt and my hair pulled back so the wind doesn’t have its way, and cruising to my next errand. I’m fully engrossed in and enjoying this sunshine filled 80+ degree day; it’s picture perfect. I am thankful every day the Lord allows me to live in this beautiful place.

Enjoying the fresh breeze through my car, the radio is quietly playing as I relax, waiting for my teenager to come out of the store and hoping he takes his time. Though not much to write home about, a busy woman and mom can’t overstate the opportunity for a quiet moment even if in a parking lot. This moment is topped as an old familiar Joe Coker song comes on : You are So Beautiful. It has such a soothing tune and a precious message, so I settled in my seat and listened through the quiet totally unexacting what God was preparing to do in my heart.

You are so beautiful
To me;
Can’t you see;
You’re everything I hoped for
You’re everything I need
You are so beautiful to me
To me

Lyrics You are so Beautiful

How the Lord sees me

My thoughts engulfed in the lyrics, You are so beautiful to me, can’t you see? My heart thinks about how the Lord sees me. Not because I am who I am, for that would cause Him to turn His back on sinful me, but because I’ve been redeemed. I am so beautiful to the Lord because He sees His son when He sees me.

His beautiful Son, Jesus

I’ve been bought with a most precious and priceless gift: the cost of my redemption was the blood of his beloved son. When my Heavenly Father sees me, when He looks at me, He sees his beautiful Son, Jesus.

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

2 Corinthians 5:21

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20

And that my friends is something beautiful to be hold.

Sin (still) separates us from Jesus

I know this isn’t popular or fun to hear, but I’ll take the risk with a quick and important footnote: when God sees me, when He sees Jesus’ covering over me– it’s barring no known sin in my life. Unconfessed sin actually puts a barrier of separation between us; God can’t look on sin. Ask the Lord to search your heart and confess any sin you realize. Jesus Himself, as He bore our sins on the cross, cried out as His Father turned His back-not able to look on sin. Even as Believers, sin interrupts the harmony of an open, intimate relationship with our Father in heaven. We should be sensitive and tender to hear from the Lord, judging ourselves (as in I Corinthians 11), and seeking the Lord’s revelation over our sin, always ready to repent, confess and walk again with the Holy Spirit leading us…no known sin.

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139:23-24

If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

Psalm 66:18

27Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

I Corinthians 11:27-29

How Beautiful

One particular year I was teaching a group of fifth graders, many who I love to this day, and my dear friend did an incredible America Sign Language inspired and choreographed rendition of Twila Paris’s song, How Beautiful, in music class. Do you know that song? I’m going to put the lyrics at the close of this post for you to read. My heart still stops to reimagine those beautiful children dressed in all black but for their white- gloved hands signing in unison, as they silently but so gracefully brought the song to life. Go look up the song, and listen to the words prayerfully. Here are a few:

How Beautiful the heart that bled
That took all my sin and bore it instead
How beautiful the tender eyes
That choose to forgive and never despise
How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

And as He lay down His life, We offer this sacrifice, That we will live just as He died, Willing to pay the price

Lyrics

My Beautiful Redeemer

Jesus, my Redeemer! How beautiful your heart that bled, that took all my sin and bore it instead. My beautiful Redeemer!

I’m glad that I don’t have to depend on my sinful, selfish, flesh to gain the approval of my Heavenly Father. He offers it to me by way of His Son.

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Romans 8:1

Genie in a Bottle

Do His promises come with stipulation? Yes, actually, some of them do. We don’t serve Genie in a Bottle. We don’t get three wishes. We serve a righteous, just, and holy God who loves us.

Does he want us to do right? Yes, for His glory.

Does he want us to make choices different than we sometimes do? Yes, because He loves us and He wants what’s best for us, and He knows exactly what that is. (And we get it wrong, on the regular.)

He loves us More

Does He desire sweet sacrifice? Does He give us a cross to bear? Yes! Yes! He does. In this life will have trials, we will hurt, and it will be hard. Sweet friends, He loves us more than all of that. He loves us more than the hurt we go through. He loves us more than the brokenness of our sin in this fallen world. He loves us more than what crushes our flesh and bones, our heart and spirit. He loves us more. He loves us most.

Through all the ebb and flow in life, of sin and repentance, of forgiveness and grace, of hope and mercy, through it all out of the abundance of the Lord’s love for us- the love that sent His son to the cross-Our God loves us and He sees us through His pure, flawless, loving, beautiful Son. He says we are the apple of His eye, and that’s pretty special, wouldn’t you agree? I think it further means, He sees Jesus in us.

Apple of His Eye

God says we are the apple of His eye. That’s a beautiful picture and reflection of His son! Look at these verses and follow them through.

Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,

Psalm 17:8

Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.

Proverbs 7:12

Think not that I (Jesus) am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

Matthew 5:17

The Lord keeps ME as the apple of His eye, I keep His law as the apple of MY, (OUR) eye, we look to Jesus–Beautiful Jesus; the fulfillment of God’s law. What a beautiful picture of how God sees us and how we are to see Jesus. Each of us looking at the other as the apple of our eye, I’d call that true love and a win-win of divine ordinance.

THE Cross

I have to stop right here. Friends, His son, our Savior, went to the cross for us. THE CROSS! Sigh. Do I stop to think about the power and reality of this enough?

I do not.

THE cross Jesus chose for us- easy enough to say, but it wasn’t easy in any way for Him. The life He led in the flesh wasn’t easy, either. We most oftentimes think it wrong, to know and love the Lord and yet to struggle in life…where’s God when it hurts? Our thoughts are amiss. Do we not know of Jesus’ life? Have we not read how He suffered on earth as He never would have in heaven? Isn’t that the promise we look to with hope-heaven’s glory with the Lord, faith becoming sight, sin’s pain being erased, and hearts being healed? Jesus left all that to come here and die the death of THE CROSS for us. He IS beautiful. How beautiful He is. His blood covers me, and you if you know Him. Our Father sees His beloved, Beautiful Son as He looks on His children.

Longing for Home

My dad died last week. He called me the week before he was admitted to the hospital. Before the doctor said anything was wrong, though he sat in front of them asking for help, before his brand new wife could see his dire need, he knew, and he said to me, “I need to get back home; if I’m dying, I want to get home to you guys.”

I was so sad. The doctors, the emt workers, and even the ER staff- the health professionals on the whole, had missed his urgent need for help, but I new from the sound of his voice this was serious. Recently he’d gotten married and moved away from all of us, and I new that meant he had no way to get back here. It seemed everything was going against him, some by his own choices and some by the sickness that had grabbed onto him. Holding all this in my heart, all I could say to affirm his feelings was, “I bet you do feel like you’re dying, Dad.”

He knew his time was drawing near, and he wanted to be home with his family. The fear of dying alone suffocated him in the past decade-probably much longer, and it was now driving him to get back ‘home.’ Well into his 83rd year of life, he was miserable in a lot of ways, and he longed for heaven. Dad had ways of saying things and getting his way, but the new words out of his mouth the past couple of months were, “I want to go home.” He longed for home. I believed him. God prepared him.

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:16

Before you were born, the Lord knew you, too.

God’s love

But I wasn’t ready to let him go. I had long pressing hopes and prayers where Dad was concerned, and I was holding fast for answers to come in a different way. I loved him and I wouldn’t choose for him to suffer, knowing heaven was waiting, but I can promise I would also never offer to let him die in someone else’s place either.  That’s God’s kind of love!

I don’t have the capacity to love like that. God’s love is a love none of us can comprehend. He sent His beloved Son to die in my place. I’m so thankful, yet even as I think, say, write that, I am convicted. I know I fall far short in living out my thankfulness. What love! God help me learn to love You more.

When Jesus went to the cross for us, He knew what was ahead. He was willing to live- and die- for me, for us. Even so, He didn’t desire to suffer what was coming. He asked His Father there in The Garden of Gethsemane , if He would, to take the death by way of the cross from Him. And yet He knew this is what He came to earth for. He had to die for me, or I would die forever separated from my Creator because I’m a sinner. To think, He loved me so much He was willing to take my place to be sure I would be with Him eternally. And He had to die for you, too; none of us escape being born into this fallen world of sin.

Jesus wants to be with you

My dad’s desire was to be home, home with his children and home with his Lord. Home where he was loved. Jesus longs to be with His children, too.

Have you ever said to your children, or heard from your own mother, in response to an I love you, “I love you more?” The Lord loves us more; He loved us first. Jesus wants to be with us, His children, His church. Let that sink in, Beautiful Jesus, the feet that walked the long dusty roads and the hill to the cross, wants to be with you, and He wants to be with me. 

Jesus wants to be with you, with me. Hallelujah!

We love Him because He first loved us.

I John 4:19

I’m thankful my dad knew the Lord. I know I will see him again. As for now, he is in heaven with my mom. His faith has become sight at last, and it’s because of Beautiful Jesus.

Here’s the thing I want you to hear. It’s the statement I hope will give my dad’s life some kind of meaning-and I just can’t explain what my heart wants to portray about what I’m here to tell you. But lean in an listen, even if I’ve previously lost you today…you can go back and listen or read this in its entirety if you’d like but hone in for the next minute.

YOU are beautiful to the Lord. It’s because of Him, and it’s true. He loves you more. I beg you, not in a way society would bump you up the pecking order of beauty, but in a way that your worth is far above anything anyone less than Jesus can offer you. Would you take our God at His Word in this? Quit listening to the lies. Quit comparing yourself, your marriage, your husband, your children, your home, your job, your bank account and every single other thing that pounds in your head against ANYTHING or anyone other than the person of Christ-the ONE who died for you. The Beautiful Jesus showers you with His beauty- YOUR ARE BEAUTIFUL to Him. And He loves Beautiful you. Believe it. Look to Him and never change your gaze. My dad, I believe with all my heart, died without ever knowing God’s perfect peace in that He loved him, period. God so loved you, Dad. Friends, God so loves you.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

If that’s not where you are today, that’s where you need to be.

And for those of us who know Him, don’t dare take your gaze, your thoughts, your heart away from Beautiful Jesus. I am confident you need Him every day. I can bet you’re looking for His perfect peace. Stay with Him.

You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.

Isaiah 26:3

Sisters, Jesus in You? You are Beautiful!

How Beautiful

How Beautiful the hands that served
The Wine and the Bread and the sons of the earth
How beautiful the feet that walked
The long dusty roads and the hill to the cross
How Beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

How Beautiful the heart that bled
That took all my sin and bore it instead
How beautiful the tender eyes
That choose to forgive and never despise
How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

And as He lay down His life
We offer this sacrifice
That we will live just as He died
Willing to pay the price
Willing to pay the price

How Beautiful the radiant bride
Who waits for her Groom with His light in her eyes
How Beautiful when humble hearts give
The fruit of pure lives so that others may live
How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

How beautiful the feet that bring
The sound of good news and the love of the King
How Beautiful the hands that serve
The wine and the bread and the sons of the Earth
How Beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

Azlyrics