Beauty?

"It is all a fake, of course; the figures in popular art are falsely drawn; the real women in bathing suits or tights are actually pinched in and propped up to make them appear firmer and more slender…than nature allows…” — P.92 -The Screwtape Letters

This is Taylor Swift.  

A charming young woman, whom many girls look up to.  And for much good reason: she is much cleaner and purer than most of our society's female role models. Observe: she has a coy smile, an almost playful expression, and seems to be playing with her hair. What girl wouldn't want to look like her?  In our world's eyes, she is beautiful.  

Why do I say this?  Well, I came upon Yubelina's story the other day.  She is an Indonesian Christian woman, who was brutally scarred by a Muslim attack upon her village. 

Here is a Mrs. Roberts' description of her face*:

Her skin is splotchy & ranges in color from light brown to red to white. Much of it is leathery. Her nose is disfigured. She has a purplish-colored patch of skin in between her bottom lip & the bottom of her chin. Her upper lip is peeling. Her left eye is white & red; her pupil is clearly no longer able to see.

But she is smiling. A huge smile. Joy radiates from her. Why?? She must receive stares. Children are probably afraid of her. The world would call her damaged. Ugly.

Yubelina has figured out where her identity lies. She is a treasured child of the King. She has traded “a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning” (Isa. 61:3). Her smile reveals Jesus.

Yubelina is beautiful. I guarantee she has a joy, a contentment, that no name-brand, trendy clothing; no perfect haircut & makeup; no flawless skin or toned body can bring.

Warning, this may be hard to look at:

Here she is:

  

When I first saw her, I grimaced.  But I looked again, and....I saw Christ.  This woman has true beauty, look in her eyes: see the hope, the joy there?  That's not in Taylor's picture.   1 Peter 3:3-4 says

^"3  Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— ⁴ but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." 

I see so many girls worry about how they look.  That's exactly what Satan wants: to keep you from making your heart pure and precious in God's sight.  When you see a painting, the most important part of the painting, is the painting itself.  The painting's frame should exemplify and serve the painting, not overshadow it. Same with our bodies.  Nothing is wrong with wanting to look beautiful, but it shouldn't overcome the best part of a person: the heart.  Yubelina is truly beautiful.

I dearly love Voice of the Martyrs, a multi-denominational Christian non-for-profit dedicated to spreading the gospel and the word about Christian persecution, and I highly recommend their free newsletter.  I also recommend supporting them.

*Source: http://www.persecutionblog.com/2011/01/true-beauty.html