Radiance

Look upon him and be radiant . . . 

 - From Psalm 34

There is such a massive industry for facial products. Everybody wants to change the way they look.

I remember being very impressed by a certain 6th grader, years ago, who admired a 9th grade girl with whom she was familiar. We'll call the 9th grader "Emma." The 6th grader said "I like how Emma is pretty, without wearing makeup."

It is years later and I have noticed that the 6th grader, now grown, wears no makeup at all and is beautiful. 

A Muslim friend of mine once commented on a Muslim woman walking by, wearing a hijab, and obviously, no makeup of any sort. He observed: "Look how beautiful she is!" This impressed me greatly - a man that is moved by the beauty of modesty. 

But people buy products to cover their blemishes, to add lines and shadows, and faux depth, to their visage. They add colorings to highlight their hair color, or clothing. They cover freckles. 

Men are no different. They spend a lot of money to look in whatever way may attract whomever it is that they want to attract. Or they overdo the gym visits because, at some level, they actually are not happy with themselves.

And there are other things we spend money on, that change our appearance, because evidently, we have not learned to be happy in our own skin, which is, itself, a very high order of actualization.

But the Psalmist says that if you look upon the Lord, you become radiant. That is, your face will shine. 

I said to my departed close friend and cousin, Larry Johnson, once, that it was hard to explain. But, Christian women (or perhaps any women or men that value modesty and simplicity) were attractive in a distinct way. I struggled for the words. I said something like "They would not necessarily ever be thought of as material for a beauty pageant or magazine cover, yet they are more attractive than Hollywood celebrities, because, I don't know . . . " And Larry finished my statement: "There's something about them."

Yes . . . that's the best way to put it. 

My thoughts today about outward appearance are not intended to make that a topic of great value, or worth. Your outward appearance is not what counts (too bad that it always does). But we have something here that explains a great mystery. How is it that modesty, humility, and purity makes a person so very beautiful?

Perhaps it is because they spend time, just learning about the Lord? They "look upon Him," as it were.

And you know . . . that makes a lot of sense.