Beautiful God

By Mary Moss

“For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved.
How then shall they
call on him in whom
they have not believed?
and how shall they
believe in him of whom
they have not heard?
and how shall they
hear without a preacher?
And how shall they
preach, except they
be sent? as it is
written, How beautiful
are the feet of them
that preach the gospel
of peace, and bring
glad tidings of good
things!
Romans 10:13-15

am not drop-dead gorgeous; never was, never will be. Of course, my husband thinks I’m beautiful. He tells me so often, too. And he means it. That kind of love transcends physical qualities. I am truly blessed to be loved in that way.

That’s why I was surprised a few years ago at a youth function when one of the very attractive teenage girls, after an ice-breaker exercise where we were paired up, introduced me as “the very beautiful...”

Wow. I’m pretty sure she wasn’t saying I have that traditional model-like beauty! I imagine/hope what she saw in me was the beauty of my heart. I hope she saw the glow that must surely emanate from me when I talk about Jesus. It is the “retouched image” of one who has wonderfully good news to share.

When you love Jesus so much that you can’t help but hum in the hallways at work, sing along with the music playing in your car and plan your life around your mission as a disciple of Christ, that’s beautiful.

Genuine love for children — the kind that makes your eyes dance and face light up when you see them – that’s beautiful. And that’s the kind of beauty Paul is talking about in Romans 10:13-15.

Everyone needs to hear words of hope and encouragement Everyone needs to hear the Good News of the Risen Christ. I have a young friend who says he thinks Jesus is irresistible – and he glows when he says it – whenever he really gets going on the topic of Jesus you can feel the air around him change.

How can others be saved if we don’t share the Good News with them? It is more than a responsibility. It is our mission. We are the disciples and the apostles of this current day. We risk no more than those early preachers. In fact, we risk far less. They were hunted down and killed! How will others believe if they have never heard?

Our response to our own salvation is to tell others about this marvelous, unspeakably gracious, beautiful God who sent his humble, strong, loving and beautiful son to earth to preach the Good News!

We are all saved because of the blood of Jesus. In gratitude for our own salvation, we share the Good News with others. That’s it. Spread the Good News of the Risen Christ, in word, in deed, and in how you live your life. You will be unspeakably beautiful when you wrap yourself in that message.