What is Beauty?

What is beauty? For the past several weeks I have been involved in a study with a heterogeneous group of women at PCPC with the purpose of examining beauty and introspectively searching our own lives to understand our hearts better. Through this study and petitions to the Father, He has revealed to me ways that I misunderstand and idolize beauty. I have misunderstood the lack of physical beauty to assume untrustworthiness and constitute not getting to know the person. I have idolized beauty in my own life to place high importance that as long as I look good, I will be accepted. And I wonder, through all the ways that the world tells us what beauty is, what if we really worked together to show the world what beauty really is...Christ. That in our sin we would be busy interceding with prayer for those who are blinded by it. That instead of judgement, we would grieve. The more self absorbed we become, the less we will be concerned with our neighbor.

(The picture that I posted above is of a woman I met in Peru who attends the local church. Upon introducing myself and asking of her name, she said, "Somos de la misma familia," we are of the same family. According to the world, this woman has nothing of beauty to offer, but look closer at the beautiful creases in her face, which speak of the depths of her relationship and love for the Father in Heaven.)