by Dr. Ralph L. Keiper
H as anyone ever said to you, “You’re looking great! Why you’re simply stunning!” When peo ple make such remarks our hearts well up with a little bit of natural pride. Actually, however, those of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ as per sonal Saviour can always look great. He has made it possible for us to have the beauty of His own wonderful grace reflected in our faces and ra diating in our hearts. In Ephesians 2:10 we read: “For we are his work manship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” We frequently will And names of women who are considered the ten best dressed in the country. Doubt less, all of these have dressmakers who design their clothes. Most of us have little opportunity to be in the “limelight,” or to receive any kind of acclaim. God has seen to it spiritu ally, however, that we can be dressed with the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. “We are His workman ship.” We could properly translate it by saying we are His masterpieces. The greatest beauty in all the world is the beauty of holiness. This is one of the signs of outward physical beau ty. What a terrible thing it would be to see a person wearing one of the outstanding styles of the day, and yet it was grimy, soiled, and dirty. This would be distasteful to all the senses. ■In Ephesians 1 :4 we read, “Accord ing as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame be fore him in love.” The words “with out blame” bring to mind that we are
to be spotless and unsoiled. One trans lation has it “immaculate.” Luther suggests that this means we are to be absolutely without reproach. We are so to live that no one can bring an accusation against us. One of the important things about wearing the proper attire is that it causes a desire on the part of others to be similarly clothed. This is the missionary aspect of spiritual beauty. As the words “without blame” speak about outward attire, the word “holy” refers to inward attire. “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.” If he has a dirty heart, filled with sin and corruption, the man will give outward expression to the same thing. What he is like on the inside will be dis played on the billboard of his daily actions. Before God ever attempts to clean us up outwardly, He knows it is nec essary to clean.us inwardly. That is the reason and necessity for the new birth. In the words of our Lord Jesus Christ we are not to be merely “whitened sepulchers,” we are to be new men and women in Christ Jesus. We are able to do good things not be cause of what we are on our own, but because of what He has made us by His grace. We do good works not to earn our salvation but rather be cause we have been born again. We can create the atmosphere of right eousness which gives others about us a longing for the better things of life. Our blessed Saviour can take the ugly and make it beautiful; however, only He can do it. As they see the Word of God being worked out in our lives it will be a means of glorifying God in the beauty of His holiness. 5
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