Well, let’s start by looking at the word authentic. It’s another word for truth or true. Authenticity, what is it?
Think of it this way...would you rather have a homemade turkey Thanksgiving dinner or a frozen TV dinner? Would you rather have a genuine diamond ring or one with cubic zirconium?
It’s a no brainer, right? We want the real stuff. The authentic.
But, so often, in life, I give in and settle for less than the best. I choose the TV dinner and the cubic zirconium.
What is authenticity? What does it mean to be genuine? I believe it’s being able to accept myself and be who I was created to be.
It’s not about what others think of me or even what others want me to be. It’s about being who I was created to be. That’s where I begin to find the truth about beauty.
So, what was I created to be? What were you created to be?
Hmmm...this is a question that has stumped me many times. Let’s just brainstorm a little bit. I know I was created by Jesus and for Jesus (Colossians 1:16b). So I was created to be God’s creation. I was created to be in relationship with Jesus.
What else?
I am created to be God’s daughter and as a daughter of a King, a Princess. With this role comes both privileges and responsibilities (Matthew 25:34).
I am created to be filled to the measure with God’s love (Ephesians 3:19). That means there are no empty spots...My life is created to be full, not empty.
I am created to be a display of God’s splendor (Isaiah 61:3). I am created to be a reflection of Him.
I am created to become more and more like my Father. The real deal.
I am created to be beautiful.
Whoa...did that catch anyone else off guard? It does me. So many times I don’t feel beautiful. I feel the opposite. Homely and average. But, not always beautiful. Created to be beautiful? That one is sometimes hard to believe. But, it’s true.
What is authentic beauty...true beauty?
And why am I afraid to embrace my true beauty, the truth about beauty? Why do I instead do the easy thing and settle for so much less...striving for outward beauty and the world’s approval of how I look?
It’s the easy thing.
Just like popping a TV dinner in the microwave is the easy thing over cooking a full blown turkey dinner for Thanksgiving. It will not have the same rewards and results, but it’s easy.
Plus, our culture screams at us from every billboard, commercial, TV program, movie, magazine, etc. that our outer beauty is more important than our true beauty. That to be valued we have to look a certain way. They are teaching us to settle for what they say beauty is instead of embracing the truth about beauty, our authentic and true beauty given to us by our Creator.
This is a picture I get of my true beauty.
That my beauty radiates from the inside out. That when I love God with all my heart, soul, strength and mind (Matthew 22:37), it will just naturally spill over to all my relationships and every area of my life. It’s as if God’s light and beauty is in my heart. And it is being pumped into every cell of my body, my brain, my muscles, my organs through my bloodstream. And as long as God’s Spirit is living inside of me, I will have that beauty radiating from the inside out. People will see the light in my eyes. They’ll be drawn to the joy in my smile. And they’ll want to find comfort in my friendship.
Mandisa - True Beauty I love the words of this song by Mandisa about finding our true beauty. She says, "What's inside of you What's inside of me The hands that made the moon and the stars The mountains and the seas Made you wonderful, beautiful, marvelously Let the whole world see your True beauty"
What about you? Have you been settling for this world’s beauty instead of discovering your true beauty?
If so, I encourage you to discover the truth about beauty! Ask God to help you change your thoughts and desires about beauty. And He will. It may not be instant, but He will slowly begin to change you from the inside out!