Yes. Beautiful.

You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.”

- God (since the beginning of time) Song of Solomon 4:7

I was driving recently and a song from my childhood came on and captured my attention. “You are so beautiful to me. You’re everything I hoped for. You’re everything I need. You are so beautiful to me.” Joe Cocker, 1974. When was the last time someone said you were beautiful? I don’t know about you, but this is not common verbiage around my house. With teenagers in and out, their friends chowing down on whatever I can most quickly get to the table, there is gratitude for a good meal, but no mention of beauty. At the assisted living where my mom resides, as I come in and out, bringing various prescriptions and toiletries, people are friendly, but again, no mention of beauty. Even my husband, who is a steady thoughtful man, hasn’t paused to mention my appearance. Do I feel beautiful? Often as I fumble through my closet to find something that fits and hides my flaws, beauty is not on my mind either.

But what does our gracious Heavenly Father tell us? “You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.” ‭‭(Song of Solomon‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭ESV)‬‬ How easy it is to praise the sunrise or sunset, the color of a bird in the backyard, or even the flowers blooming around us and forget that God made us beautiful too. We are his workmanship, the Master Creator used his creativity bringing to life each and every plant and creature. He saved the best for last, us. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭27‬ ‭ESV‬ If we recognize the magnificence of the world around us, then we must also call ourselves beautiful.

In a world that focuses on physical attractiveness, we Christians can often feel prideful for acknowledging our own beauty. God’s beauty is not limited to our hair or eyes or shape, but he says we are “altogether beautiful.” God is all about us being perfect, with “no flaw.” Despite our ability to find every bump and mark, God sees us through his own rose-colored glasses. He knows the purpose for which we are called, and even a disability or something we would consider a flaw is used for his glory and our good. May we each see ourselves as our Abba, Daddy does, exceptional.