Occasional reflections on neglected themes

To finish my thought from the other day, allow me to list ten insights concerning beauty which we can glean from the account of the woman who did “a beautiful thing” for Jesus by anointing His head for burial with an expensive jar of perfume (Mk. 14.3-9). 

1. There is such a thing as beauty in the mind of God. Beauty does not exist “in the eye of the beholder.” This is not to negate personal taste or preference. It is simply to observe that Jesus knew beauty when He saw it because beauty exists in the mind of God. Thus, we who possess the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2.16) should expect to know true beauty as He does.
2. God commends beauty. This is because beauty reflects the very character of God (Ps. 27.4); beauty represents God’s purpose for the creation (Eccl. 3.11); and beauty is the inheritance God has stored up for those who know and love Him (Ps. 16.6).
3. Beauty can appear in the most unlikely of places. Though this was the home of a leper, still, beauty was there. We who do not regard ourselves as particularly beautiful or creative should nonetheless believe that God can bring beauty to light in and through us, as we learn beauty and practice it according to His ways.
4. Beauty is experienced beyond mere cognition. It cannot be merely defined; it defies being reduced to numbers or formulas. Beauty, like the fragrance of that woman’s perfume spreading out throughout the room, must be experienced with our senses and affections, as well as our minds, if it is to be fully appreciated.
5. Beauty creates the sensation of delight and pleasure. We are drawn to beautiful things, not repulsed by them.
6. People respond differently to the experience of beauty. Some may regard it as a useless thing or a waste of time and resources. Others will want to remember and enjoy it over and over. Do not look to people to define things beautiful, or their responses may lead you astray. In high school history text books Madonna receives more attention than Andrew Wyeth. But is her work more beautiful than his?
7. Beauty does not come into being without sacrifice. It cost this woman significantly to fill that house with her “beautiful thing.” It will cost you to make something beautiful out of your life.
8. Beauty can be more important than practical matters. Judas and others harrumphed over the waste of resources that could have been used for the poor. Jesus thought otherwise. Beauty may not be very practical, but in the mind of God, it is very important. The Eastern hemlock is among the most beautiful of trees, but it is completely useless for any human purpose.
9. Beauty comes more clearly into focus as such when it highlights or makes manifest the work of God. This woman’s work was beautiful because it prepared Jesus for His burial. The true beauty in all beautiful things has something to say to us about our beautiful Lord, and the more we are able to discern that insight, the more beautiful the object becomes.
10. Beauty endures. We return to it over and over, and never tire of it. Jesus said the account of this woman’s beautiful deed would live on as long as the Gospel does. Cowper wrote, “Scenes must be beautiful which daily viewed/Please daily, and whose novelty survives/Long knowledge and the scrutiny of years.”

Is there enough of beauty in your life?

Related texts: Genesis 1.31; Psalm 16.6; Psalm 27.4; Ecclesiastes 3.11; Mark 14.3-9

A conversation starter: “I’ve been thinking about beauty lately. What do you think beauty is, anyway?”

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.