What Makes You Beautiful: A 7 Day Devotionalಮಾದರಿ

A Beauty That Fades

Every season has its beauty. My favorite is autumn. I love when hot summer days give way to milder ones, when the vibrant colors of the earth change into subtle, warm hues: orange, red, yellow, gold. Leaves that were once bright green begin floating down from their trees, and summer’s flowers fade. Even the grass is eventually covered with a blanket of morning frost. Winter is coming.

No season lasts forever. No earthly beauty lasts forever either. We love marveling at beautiful things, but just like “the grass withers and the flower fades,” everything we see with our two eyes is fading away. This includes our bodies and appearance (“all flesh”), as well as every good gift we enjoy here on earth (like shoes, clothing, and everything else that’s beautiful).

Earthly beauty will fade, but God’s beauty will last forever.

This is what God wants us to see through our verse today: “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” He wants us to know that earthly beauty won’t last forever. But what will last forever is a transformed, beautiful heart that knows and shows the beauty of the Lord Jesus.

Does this mean we shouldn’t care about beautiful things? No! Just because the seasons change and fade doesn’t mean we don’t notice their beauty and care about them; and just because our earthly gifts and beauty will fade someday doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy them now.

Instead, our perspective changes. Perspective means that we start to care most about what matters most—in this case, a lasting beauty in our hearts that will never fade.

So yes, we should care about our outer appearance and love what’s beautiful, enjoying how fun it is to decorate ourselves in beauty. This matters! But it’s not all that matters, for these things will not last forever. They will all fade away.

But what will last forever, my dear? A transformed, beautiful heart that knows and shows the beauty of her Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s pray. Beautiful God, please give me perspective today about what matters most as I care for myself and enjoy the good and beautiful gifts you’ve given me. Help me care most about what will last forever: a heart that knows and shows your beauty. In Jesus’s name, amen.