August 4, 2005

[Rev. Doc]

Inner Beauty

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and find clothes. Instead, it should be that of you inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."
I Peter 3:3-4

In New Mexico, there is a natural wonder that is one of the largest and most spectacular of its kind in the world. Carlsbad Caverns is an immense series of limestone caves extending under much of southern New Mexico. Native Americans took refuge in the gaping hole that is the main entrance, but they did not venture far. A hundred years ago settlers in the area were attracted to the opening by the awesome sight of hundreds of thousands of bats swarming from the hole every summer evening. Though a bat guano mining operation was set up, nobody explored much beyond the bat's dwelling places.

Eventually, a cowboy name Jim White explored deeper. He returned with fantastic stories of gigantic subterranean chambers, spectacular cave formations and unbelievably stupendous sights. Even in 1915, after black and white photographs were taken of the caverns, many did not believe. The government sent skeptic Robert Holley to investigate in 1923. He wrote in his final report, "I am wholly conscious of the feebleness of my efforts to convey in words the deep conflicting emotions, the feeling of fear and awe, and the desire for an inspired understanding of the Divine Creator's work which presents to the human eye such a complex aggregate of natural wonders."

A whole new world -- majestic, wondrous and awe-inspiring -- lay hidden from view. Its unimagined beauty can only be experienced by exploring beneath the surface.

And so it is with people. We each possess a unique inner beauty that can be discovered by anyone who cares to explore beneath the surface. You may have even successfully hidden it from yourself, but that does not mean it doesn't exist. And your outward appearance probably has little relation to the magnificent wonders that lay just below.

Prayer: Ask the Lord to help you pay more attention to your inner beauty than you do to your outer.

"The Lord prefers common-looking people. That is the reason he made so many of them."
~Abraham Lincoln

[Gypsy]

And so it is with people. We each possess a unique inner beauty that can be discovered by anyone who cares to explore beneath the surface. You may have even successfully hidden it from yourself, but that does not mean it doesn't exist. And your outward appearance probably has little relation to the magnificent wonders that lay just below.

"You may have even sucessfully hidden it from yourself" ... this is so true of many people that I've met. It's hard to not judge others by the outside, but sometimes it's even harder to not judge yourself by your appearance.