Inner beauty is Christ Himself. It is not Christ empowering us, or giving us extra light so we can shine “for” Him (2 Cor. 4:7). Inner beauty is Christ Himself shining through our “jars of clay.” So, the question is not if we have inner beauty but whether or not it shines through.
In his book, “Good to Great in God’s Eyes,” Chip Ingram talks about a friend of his who was somewhat nerdy. The cool kids dint really hang out with him, and he didn’t have many friends. But then, something incredible happened. He came to know Christ and he started memorizing Scripture-whole chapters and books of Scripture. The more this man read the Word of God and aligned himself to its Truth, the more it became a part of him and changed him from the inside. “For the Word of God is living and active.” Hebrews 4:12a. He became a different person-peaceful, confident, and humble. People began seeking him out with problems, asking for his thoughts.
As all this happened, his outward appearance also began to change. People were attracted to him like a magnet, as they were to Jesus. The Scripture describes Christ’s appearance as unremarkable. You wouldn’t notice him. Yet, when He spoke, people were inexplicably drawn to Him. He spoke with authority and wisdom, and He had a presence about him.
Inner beauty, even though it is clearly described as “inner”, can’t help but show up on the outside. That’s just how Jesus is-he permeates whatever He touches! Outer beauty cannot make such a claim; its effects, although pleasing to the eye, are only on the outside.
We can all think of someone we know who we would describe as having inner beauty. Often you can see it in their eyes and feel it in their presence. You feel relaxed around them. They are not in a hurry. You know they are not out to change you or admonish you to “get it together.” You feel the space and grace to be where you are. They are good listeners, but they don’t always try to give you an answer. They are okay not having one. They don’t have to talk all the time and are okay with silence in a conversation. When they do have an answer, they will faithfully speak it even if it’s hard to hear. Truth wrapped in grace is more important to them than flattery.
The one consistent mark of someone who has inner beauty is that they are humble. Humility is the opposite of pride. It submits to God. Humility is not thinking of yourself as small, it is about knowing how big God is. It does not have to force and manipulate to have its own way because it is holding the hand of the Sovereign One who knows the way. These people consistently align themselves with God and the authority of His Word. They humble themselves before it–even when they don’t “feel” like it or don’t understand.
As someone who, like you, wants to let Christ shine through my jar of clay, let me share something with you that tripped me up for a long time. I am a woman who has very strong feelings and spent a long time living by them. Every choice I made was either toward pleasure or away from pain. Over the last few years, God has taught me something incredibly powerful: the choice to humble myself before God and His Word has nothing to do with feelings.
Let me give you an example. Because Christ lives in me, I have the power to make the choice to believe Him- even if I feel afraid (or angry, envious, whatever). I choose– as an act of my will– to humble myself before His Word. “Lord, I am afraid of what those people will think if I do this. But You have told me in Your Word that fear of man is a snare, but those who trust in You are kept safe. So I am going to obey You despite this fear. I choose to believe You and do what You ask, and trust that You will take care of the consequences.”
I do not deny that I feel fear, or try to talk myself out of it. That would be very unwise! Stuffing our feelings will greatly hinder our inner and outer beauty. My feelings and emotions are real, powerful, and may even have some truth to them, but they are not God’s Word. God has given me the gift of emotion. But it is not my rudder, He is.
So, I take the fears to Him, and I trust that He will help me sift through them. “Lord, why am I so fearful about what people will think about my decisions? Why does that matter so much to me? What do I believe that is not true? Father, please show me what is going on in my heart here and lead me in Your way.” Then I listen and He leads. Always.
As I do this over and over, it becomes a habit of our relationship. Eventually, I feel less and less fear, because God is healing the root of my fear. He doesn’t just cover it up and tell me to get over it. He restores me by taking me all the way back to the time when I made the decision to believe a lie about myself or Him. In this particular instance, He showed me that at a certain point in my life, I made a decision that if people were going to like me, if I was going to be accepted, I could not be my real self. I had to be what they wanted me to be.
This, of course, was a lie. But the feelings that came with it were real, and they were powerful, yet they were not true. I had based my worth as a person on what people thought of me, instead of what God says is true about me because of Christ. Now, despite how I feel, I choose to believe what God says is true, and I humble myself before His word. I am fearfully and wonderfully made, and His works are wonderful. If I trust in Him with all my heart, and don’t lean on my own understanding, He will lead me on a straight path. He will never leave me or forsake me for He loves me and He can be trusted.
As I make these choices, my Faithful Father does the work in my heart that only He can do. Over time, something amazing has happened. I care more about what God thinks than about what people think! I really am loved and precious to Him. He is shining through my jar of clay.
This transformation (Romans 12:2) did not happen by my own self-effort. (I tried that before – it didn’t work!) God did it, and He gets all the glory and praise. Shane and Shane in their song called “Waiting Room,” share a powerful truth: “Lord, I know if I change my mind, You will change my heart in time.” The more we make this choice to humble ourselves before His Word, the easier and more habitual it gets. So where my first instinct used to be fear, now it is trust. I’m not saying it is always easy, but His grace is sufficient for whatever we face. How merciful and unfailing He is! May His light shine!
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I want to be radiant for Your glory! Give me the courage and desire to humble myself before Your Word and walk in Your Truth. Restore me that Your light may shine through me onto all who cross my path
Memory Scripture:
“I sought the LORD and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look on Him are radiant; Their faces are never covered with shame” Psalm 34:4-5.
