We have a skewed vision of what’s beautiful –
we see rich people who flaunt their wealth
and we admire them for their riches
but we don’t see their arrogance
or the way they insult the poor
who could barely feed themselves
We have a skewed vision of what’s beautiful –
we see people who don’t take their relationships seriously
and we envy them
we see them as gods and goddesses to be desired
but we don’t see the way they break other people’s hearts
We have a skewed vision of what’s beautiful –
we see powerful men who assert their strength over others
and we applaud them for their conquests in war
but we don’t see the people they have hurt or killed
or how they chose violence over mercy
What is something beautiful for you?
will rough hands that labored to feed their children do?
will scars borne out of sacrifice to defend one’s beloved do?
There are wrinkles that show wisdom
and meekness that show great strength,
there is a gentleness that far exceeds
violence in power
and there is a silence that tells us more
than boastful voices ever do
How about you?
What is something beautiful for you?
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
nothing to attract us to him.
He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.
Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
-ISAIAH 53:2-5
The thing about hope is that it’s a positive force that shines the most when it’s dark. When everything’s going well, we hardly notice it’s there. But when things go against us, when our dreams fade and when we see no immediate reprieve from our troubles, that’s when hope does its best work for us.
"Where Hope Can Be Found"