I think the first time I asked myself this question was when I heard an ETS presentation in which the speaker was talking about beauty. He suggested that the reason we have billions upon billions of planets and stars is because God loves beauty. His entire message consisted of Biblical proofs that God loves beauty.
He convinced me that God indeed loves beauty. The Scriptures are clear on this point. In fact, God Himself is beautiful.
The Bible calls lots of things beautiful: pearls (Matt 13:45), stones in the temple (Luke 21:5), the gate of the temple (Acts 3:2, 10), the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace (Rom 10:15), Moses when he was a baby (Exod 2:2; Heb 11:23), wildflowers (Jas 1:11), a gentle and quiet spirit (1 Pet 3:4), the daughters of men (Gen 6:2), Sarai (Gen 12:11, 14; 26:7), Rachel (Gen 29:17), Aaron and his son’s priestly garments (Exod 28:2, 40), cities in the Promised Land (Deut 6:10), Bathsheba (2 Sam 11:2), Absalom’s daughter, Tamar (2 Sam 14:27), precious stones (2 Chron 3:6), Job’s daughters (Job 42:15), Jerusalem (Ps 48:2), wisdom (Ezek 28:7), and the Lord Himself (Ps 90:17; Isa 4:2).
While no verse explains beauty, the Bible is clear that appearances, shapes, designs, inner qualities, and even wisdom itself can and should be beautiful.
Beauty is that which is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, ear, taste, touch, or even smell.
Five Greek words are translated as “beauty” in the NT: kalos (Matt 13:45, pearls; Luke 21:5, stones), hōraios (Matt 23:27, whitewashed tombs; Acts 3:2, 10 temple gate; Rom 10:15, feet), asteios (Heb 11:23, child), euprepeia (Jas 1:11, flower), and aphthartos (1 Pet 3:4, godly wife).
We were created in God’s image. Thus, we should rejoice in beauty as He does.
A word related to beauty is glory. For example, in 2 Cor 3:18, Paul refers to the glory or beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Believers should seek to design and wear beautiful garments. We should seek to look our best. We should take care of our home’s exterior and interior and our yards.
We should appreciate art, music, literature, mathematics, science, and so forth.i
Food can be beautifully cooked and beautifully presented.
Wine can be beautifully prepared, bottled, and served.
Drinking glasses and dishes can be beautiful.
Remember that the Queen of Sheba marveled at the beauty of all Solomon did (2 Chron 9:5-8).
One final point: Beware of the distortion of beauty in our age.
Because of the Darwinian philosophy that life evolved, many view life as meaningless. There is no point to it. This has impacted our understanding of beauty.
One “artist” put a crucifix in a jar and called it art. Another duct-taped a banana to the wall of an art exhibit. That ultimately sold—with many replacement bananas along the way—for $5.2 million. Excrement in a jar was another piece of supposed beauty. There is even a Museum of Bad Art.
Many forms of art have been cheapened and vulgarized. This includes painting, sculpture, writing, photography, and music.
The accurate reporting of the news was once beautiful. Now, news reports are slanted to represent values held by the news organization.
Education in universities and colleges used to be beautiful. Harvard, for example, was established to train ministers of the gospel. Today, public schools have become ugly. Antisemitism is disguised as concern for the oppressed. Racism is actively promoted. Communism is endorsed. LGBTQ is praised. Conservative, often Biblical, views are suppressed and mocked.
The teaching of evolution as the explanation of origins turns God’s beautiful creation into happenstance junk.
Evolutionists downplay all the complexity and beauty in God’s creation. Hemoglobin is a miracle. Ice is a miracle. The eye is miraculous. DNA is miraculous. The organization of a single cell is amazing in its complexity.
We need to get our view of beauty from Scripture, not from the current culture.
If you love beauty, then you should love God, who Himself is beautiful and who is the Source of all beauty.
Keep grace in focus so you can be a beautiful representative of our Lord and Savior.
i I do not have much appreciation for music. Opera is totally beyond my taste. I am not attracted to the beauty of food. But I am confident that in Christ’s kingdom I will appreciate all those things the way I was created to enjoy them. They say after cataract surgery, colors are much more vibrant. When we are glorified, all of life will be much more beautiful. Our appreciation for beauty will skyrocket.
