"Discover beauty in everyone." Romans 12:17 The MessageEVERYONE, yes EVERYONE has beauty in them. It just needs to be DISCOVERED. Some people's beauty is seen easily while others it can be quite a search to find. But because God created each one of us we each have our own unique beauty. It's our job to discover it in each person we meet.
One of my Mom's beauties is her selfless nature. I can not remember a time when my mom did not put someone else's needs or wants above her own. She lives her life in service to others. She regularly sacrifices something for herself while helping someone else out. And she doesn't do this begrudingly, she does it with joy and kindness. I saw this so clearly when she stayed with me for 2 weeks after my accident and attended to my every need WITH JOY. I remember apologizing over and over that I had to ask her for help with things and she always responded with grace and love. As a pastor's wife, my mom has invested in people's lives and displayed this same selfless nature for almost 40 years. This is one of her beauties.
One of my Dad's beauties is his ability to make anyone and everyone feel loved and cared about. He has this way with people. He is able to strike up conversation with anyone. He has dear friends all over the country and world because he makes an impression on people. He invests his time in getting to know people where they are and for that, they feel loved. He reminds me of Romans 15:3 where Paul is talking about Jesus and says,"He didn't make it easy for himself by avoiding people's troubles, but waded right in and helped out. " My dad has been a Pastor for almost 40 years and for those 40 years has invested in countless lives and made them feel God's love. This is one of his beauties.
So those beauties are pretty easy for me to find.
What about that person at work that annoys you? Or the homeless person selling newspapers at the intersection? Or your family member that gets on your last nerve? Or that obnoxious driver who just cut you off? It's pretty hard to find beauty in people sometimes. The ugly is much easier to find. It's much easier to complain about. It's hard to forget sometimes.
But Paul challenges us to "Discover beauty in everyone." How do we do that? To be honest, I don't know all the answers, but I know some. And God's word gives us ideas on others. "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." "Love from the center of who you are." "Don't run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other." "Love never gives up. Love cares for others more than self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, doesn't have a swelled head, doesn't force itself on others, isn't always 'me first', doesn't fly off the handle, doesn't keep score of sins of others, doesn't revel when others grovel, takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, puts up with anything, trusts God always, always looks for the best."
So this is what I'm going to try to do. I'm going to try to discover beauty in everyone. I believe everyone has that beauty, I may just need to look a little deeper in some. But I want to find it. And I want one of my beauties to be that people walk away from time with me and feel loved and valued. I want to be like Jesus, and I believe that's how people felt when they spent time with him. They felt loved and known. He saw their beauty when no one else did.
