The Beauty of Jesus

By Al Behel       Someone has said that by the time you are 50 years old you have the face you deserve. Perhaps there is a lot of truth in that statement. The years we have spent frowning, scowling, worrying, smiling, or laughing are etched on our faces. Every day we are making a face that will tell a great deal about how we have lived our lives.     Billions of dollars are spent each year by both men and women trying to change our faces. Plastic surgery, cosmetics, herbal supplements, lotions, creams, and countless other techniques are used to erase the unwanted marks and create a new image.     Paul tells us that if we keep looking at Jesus we will start to look more and more like him (2 Corinthians 3:18). Those compassion lines and smiles of kindness lines will be permanently etched on our faces. We will become more like him on the inside and the outside will glow with his presence within us. We will be transformed into “his image”.     When Moses descended from Mount Sinai after being in the presence of God his face was aglow with a radiance that made it impossible for the people to look upon him. When the apostles Peter and John stood before the threatening Sanhedrin Court, that august body could not miss the fact that they had been with Jesus.     That’s the way it is for all of us. When we spend time with him, his beauty becomes a part of us. The hymn expresses it so well: Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me, All His wonderful passion and purity; Oh, Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me. —Orsborn     No cosmetic surgery or any other treatment will give us the face of Jesus. As we behold his glory and experience his grace we will begin to look more and more like Him.

- Al Behel served the Great Smoky Mountains Church of Christ in Pigeon Forge, TN, for many years prior to this death in April 2022. The congregation may be contacted through their website - https://gsmchurchofchrist.com/