The 12 Gifts of Christmas
12 days featuring 12 gifts we receive because of Jesus.
Gift #9: The GIFT of Beauty!
Isaiah was speaking of one of the GIFTS of Jesus when he wrote: “The Spirit of the Lord God… has sent Me…to give them beauty for ashes!” (Isaiah 61:2-3)
If you are a believer, God has made the ash heap of your old life into a beautifully vibrant and fruitful garden.
This beauty is, in part, a transaction without outward transformation, meaning that you gained the beauty of Christ because you believed in Him and surrendered your life to His Lordship.
But the inward beauty becomes more and more outward as others begin to see this beauty that God already sees in you!
Think about it. In Christ you are not only beautiful in His sight, but also to others. Why?
John helps us understand why: “everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:3)
Essentially when Jesus is in us and our heart is renewed by the Holy Spirit, we begin to change from the inside out! Our old fruit of anger is now a fruit of patience and love. The ugly fruit of drunkenness and out of control behavior becomes the delicious “fruit” of a life put in order by God.
So thank God that He has made you beautiful in Christ. And if you’re not a Christ follower, turn to Jesus today and freely receive the beauty of holiness and purity in your life as your old impurities are washed away by His blood.
With much love in Christ,
Jeff
