Persian king Ahasuerus banished his queen
and sought a new one (see the book of Esther). I hope none of us would approve
of what he did or how he did it. How degrading to demand that Vashti flaunt her
beauty before the king’s drunken nobles! Then he selected his new wife based
almost entirely on her physical attractiveness. But why would we expect
anything else? The king was a pagan and behaved in typical pagan fashion.
Despite all of this, God worked through those events to deliver His people.
Hadassah (Esther), a young Jewish girl,
went through a solid year of beauty preparations before her interview with the
king (Esther 2:12). Please don’t think ill of her! She didn’t make the rules.
She made the best of a less-than-ideal situation.
We serve a King infinitely superior to
Ahasuerus. Esther diligently prepared to see her king. Let us take a cue from
her by preparing to see King Jesus!
This has nothing to do with physical
attractiveness or lack thereof! Nor am I concerned here with wearing a coat and
tie to the assembly. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to inspire the apostles to
emphasize inner spiritual beauty. “Rather let it be the hidden person of the
heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quite spirit” (1 Peter 3:4).
In contrast to flashy, costly garments, Paul urges being clothed “with good
works” (1 Timothy 2:10).
Revelation 7:13-14 pictures faithful
Christians as dressed in robes they had washed and made white in the blood of
the Lamb. They had gone through fiery trials without yielding. They were
inwardly beautiful!
Does inner beauty qualify you to meet your
King? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
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