Hearing about
ugly episodes is a regular part of any day, but God don’t like ugly.
The early
settlers along the James River—in what would become the United States of
America—had some ugly in them, although they were responsible for the founding
of one of the greatest nations in the world. Although the Native Americans
helped them survive, the settlers fought with them and eventually pushed them
from their land. Soon, slavery made its ugly entrance into the young colonies.
Africans were imported by the millions and crowded in squalid conditions on
ships where many died before they ever reached the colonies. As the colonies
grew into a country and westward expansion occurred, slavery increased, and so
did the mistreatment of other Native Americans.
Ugly didn’t
cease once America was finalized with fifty states. Nor is it confined to
America. I listen to ugly every day when I hear about murders, rapes, terrorist
acts, natural disasters, shootings, and other acts of unkindness. I sometimes
wonder where the pretty is.
Since our bodies
are temples of God’s Spirit, they should be pretty places. I’ve never
considered myself handsome. I can’t remember girls pining to date me when I was
in high school. I had somewhat of an ugly complex. But regardless of how I
appear on the outside, my inside can be handsome.
Sin makes us
ugly. It’s easy to make light of sin by redefining it, calling it something
else, or making it appear less tragic than it is. No matter what we do with it,
God still sees it as ugly. Sin is behind the ugly we hear about and see each
day. The absence of sin would result in the annihilation of all that’s bad in
our world.
The only way we
can keep our temples clean is to accept God’s solution for ugly: forgiveness.
If ugly will separate us eternally from God, then we better fix it. Accepting
what Christ has done on Calvary’s cross allows his righteousness to be credited
to our account. Then we’re not ugly in God’s sight anymore. With the help of
God’s Spirit indwelling us, our pretty inside will manifest itself outwardly in
kind words and admirable actions, making the world a better place.
Let God
transform your ugly to beauty.
Father, thank
you for the beautiful new nature you offer us through Jesus Christ.
I invite you to try my book A Whisper in the Woods: Quiet Escapes in a Noisy World. No one escapes life's hurts, but quiet places help us regain our perspective. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.
