Beautiful
Made in the image of God, by the hand of God, with the Spirit of God…Beautiful.
Some of you may remember me writing about my husband giving me this necklace for Christmas and how I had hardly taken it off since he placed it around my neck and hooked the clasp.
He told me this every day for years–“You are BEAUTIFUL.” And to someone like me who joyfully receives tokens of love in written words, it was a gift that not only delighted but anchored his sentiment deep in my soul.
See, my beloved had to undo how I thought about myself. He had to rerecord the cassette tapes formed long ago in my childhood: I am ugly. I am dumb. I am unworthy of love. Somehow, some way, these lies took root from various long-forgotten sources from school, at home, through media, or just by living on planet earth.
We all have these messages, these defeating lies or half-truths we believe about ourselves. But people who truly love us for who we are, who love us like Christ loves us, can be the instrument God uses to destroy the things that defeat us and keep us from being all we were created to be.
Working in the power and Spirit of Christ, my beloved has helped set me free from that sin and condemnation!
Recently I had opportunity to counsel a woman who had the same tapes playing in her head that I used to have. I looked at her and thought, “But she is so beautiful!” and I knew exactly what to do. You see, I felt the Spirit had been prompting me to give away “BEAUTIFUL” to someone who needed it. My blessing had to be passed on to someone new.
After kissing my husband that night, I confessed I had given away my gift to her and told him why I felt overwhelmed by the Spirit to do such a thing. As I looked into his eyes, they began to water exactly as I expected them to do. He understood completely and was so happy his gift had been passed on to someone who now needed it more than I did.
In years past, I needed what Christopher gave me; she needed what I had been given now. That gift was a BLESSING. And we are able to pass on Christ’s blessings when we hold our gifts freely with an open hand.
After all, He has given us EVERYTHING.
“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in various forms.” (1 Peter 4:10)
How will we serve others and administer God’s grace today?
