Can it be?

                 Everyone knows that there are ugly, plain and beautiful people.  Some people are meant to be elevated because of their exquisite beauty.  Hmmmm, is that so?  But, what makes someone beautiful?  Does it all depend on the outside?

                  The good the bad and the ugly
                   Your heart became proud on account of your beauty,  and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor so I threw you to the earth;  I made a spectacle of you before kings.
                                Ezekiel 28:17
                     

     Why do women like people who are eye pleasing?  I think it's because every single woman longs for beauty. 

          Look outside for a moment.  What do you see? If you're in the country you may see fields of wheat or corn, animals grazing in the pasture, or a stand of trees.  If you're in a suburban housing area, there are houses very close and evenly spaced with trees here and there and bushes or flowers in the yard. Or maybe you live in a city.  There may be no trees  but buildings everywhere!  God made beauty everywhere.  Fall is my favorite season because I feel like that's when I can see God's beautiful creative handy work the most.

        Let's see what beauty and ugliness means.

        Beauty; The quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit.

       Ugly;  Frightful, dire , offensive to the sight.  Hideous offensive or unpleasing to any sense.

       Interesting.  With both definitions, it talks not about outward appearance but,  the inside.  Could it be that sometimes the outwardly beautiful person could be ugly? I think, though the word ugly should not be used so carelessly.  After I saw the meaning, I don't want to use it unless it's accurate.  That makes me think of the original story of Beauty and the Beast written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince deBeaumont.  Beauty, it said, was outwardly pleasing but Jeanne mostly wrote that all the characters notice her actions,  thoughts, and words were the qualities that made Beauty lovely.

      What about Frankenstein?  That's one of my favorite intriguing stories.  A man named Victor Frankenstein was always fascinated with death.  Then he played around and created a man from decomposing body parts and ended up creating a "monster."  Who was really the monster?  Victor, who had a fascination that turned into an obsession or the created who loved nature and yearned to learn about the world around him but yet;  he was shunned.
We think we can judge someone's character by their appearance but that's actually the opposite!  The Frankenstein monster looked like one outwardly but he was gentle and loved nature.  He had a beautiful heart until Victor told him otherwise.

       Then it makes you wonder about Jesus.  Wasn't He beautiful and eye catching?  He had to be able to get the people to follow him somehow, right?  Wrong.

                He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,  and like a root out of dry ground.  He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him,  nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.
                         Isaiah 53:2

      Wow!  Jesus wasn't perfect looking like in the movies?!  Now how am I supposed to imagine what He looked like?  Well, I don't think God wants us to focus on that. He wants us to focus on what Jesus said.  Now think about that.  The prophecies that went out before Jesus came to earth didn't say we would know Him when we see Him.  We we would know Him when we Hear Him.

                               Stunning Creation
                           

                I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;  your works are wonderful,  I know that full well.
                     Psalm 139:14
      I believed the lie that I was not valuable because I didn't have a perfectly clear complexion,  I wasn't tall,  slender or graceful. I didn't have gorgeous tresses.  I was short (still am),  had acne,  frizzy, big, puffy hair and I was chunky.  When people would tell my parents that they had beautiful daughters or that I was beautiful I would politely thank them.  I would be fascinated on how they could see any kind of beauty on my "ugly" frame.  Almost two years ago, at the age of twenty, God placed this question in my head:  
      Why are you choosing to think of yourself this way?
     That radically shook my world.  You mean... I'm choosing this?  I took the step of faith on trusting God that I am His creation so that makes me beautiful.  My thinking and view of a lot of things changed.  Even my confidence improved!  At the age of fourteen I had my hair cut off because I was tired of it.  I sported a bald head, buzzed, very short hair and a Mohawk.  I enjoyed those but,  just this year I realized that I thought I could never have long hair because I would look crazy!  Now about seven months later my hair is longer then it has been in about five or six years.  I'm learning how to properly take care of the curly hair that I'm lovingly embracing!

      Now the people that are ugly are those who aim to verbally, mentally and physically hurt others purposely.  Their character can be ugly but,  there is always hope that Jesus can show them their true potential.

      Do you struggle with this area in your life now?  Do you believe this lie or are you making others believe it?  Ladies,  I challenge you to encourage fellow women by reminding them or telling them ( and yourself)  that they're a wonderful stunning creation!  Read Psalm 139 and even place sections of the chapter everywhere in your house so you will remember:  

You are not ugly.  You are beautiful,  and that's the truth.                    

Be Aware

                                                                             

 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
                                                                       1 Corinthians 8:9

           Have you ever thought; I can do whatever I want!  If they can't handle it,  that's their problem.  I have been guilty of thinking that way.  I'm sure you have too.  Doesn't God say we can do whatever we want?  Or... is that something we made up?   

                                                 You can but... 

           Now the Lord is the spirit,  and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we,  who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory,  are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory,  which comes from the Lord,  who is the spirit.
                                                                           2 Corinthians 3:17-18

           A few years ago a neighbor said to me and my sisters that as a Christian we are free and we can do whatever we want.  I agreed with her at the time but,  as I grew older and my relationship with Christ got stronger the logic behind that sounded off.  What the verse says above is that we have freedom when the Holy Spirit dwells in us;  freedom from death and being condemned to Hell, forever apart from God.  Not freedom in buying whatever we want,  watching whatever we want or listening to whatever we want.  It says, 
          "who with unveiled faces all reflect His glory."
          Unveiled means to remove a veil or covering from;  to make public.  Open.  Revealed.  So,  Jesus took off the veil of sin and death and now,  like looking  into a crystal clear lake Jesus has purified us and can see His reflection in us.

            Everyday as we draw closer to Jesus He shows us new things about Him,  and He's changing/transforming our hearts.  God showed me that we can't do anything we want.  If we turned back to our old ways and followed sin again after accepting Jesus, no one would want to spread the gospel because we would be too focused on our own priorities and wants. We need to follow what God wants.

                                                  Watch it!!!

            Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.  Instead,  make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.
                                                                   Romans 14:13

         "Oh hon!  You took your son to watch that?!  It's PG-13 and Jordan's only Eleven.  Shame on you!
        
         "Kathy,  It wasn't that bad.  There was only partial nudity and a little violence.  What did you watch over the weekend?"

       " I took Micheal and Jodi to see this movie."

       "Kathy...That's Rated-R.  Micheal's fifteen and Jodi's just turned thirteen."

       "So.  It was very educational."

        Would you say those friends were helping each other in any way?  PG-13 mother wanted to spend time with her son. The movie she watched may have not been the greatest though.  Kathy watched a rated-R movie that was far from "educational."

        Kathy knew that PG-13 mom shouldn't have taken her son to watch that.  There were better choices.  But Kathy watched a movie that was just as bad or worse!  This made PG-13 mom feel horrible and like she wasn't a very good mother.  She began to question her parenting skills.  What makes Kathy better then me?

       These are fictional characters but,  this happens.  We may judge someone harshly for what they're doing but then,  we turn around and do something just as bad or worse and that causes the other person to stumble.

       What does Jesus mean exactly about passing judgment?  He doesn't want us to judge someone like telling them they're wrong and that they should be ashamed or they're going to Hell!  Instead we need to stand back and let God work.  We need to pray for them.

      Earlier I talked about freedom.  How can "freedom become a stumbling block to the weak?"  Well,  if you knew that a friend struggles with immoral sexuality and you took them to watch a movie chalk full of sex and it didn't bother you...what about her?  Or vice versa, you struggle with eating issues and you're trying to lose weight so you're trying to stay away from certain foods and your friend takes you out to eat at a place that has only food you're trying to stay away from.  It doesn't bother her but...what about you?

       Jesus wants us to be aware of others.  You may be free from a certain sin but someone next to you may still be in the midst of overcoming it.  Do the things we say and do lead others down a path away from God?  That is why we need to continually spend time with God,  reading His word and talking to Him.  When you seek Him continually He will reveal more of Himself to you and transform you so,  you won't want to do what you want and let everyone else deal with it.  You will want to do what Christ wants and become aware of their struggles and needs.