“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” – 1 Peter 3:3-4, NIV

In a world full of screens and beautiful, seemingly perfect people, it can be easy to get lost in the quest for physical beauty. This can leave us with a feeling of hopelessness or even worthlessness, as it can seem impossible to obtain the beauty that is coveted by so much of the world.

However, true, unfading beauty is much more than exteriors. “Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is of great worth in God’s sight” (1 Peter 3:4, NIV). The Bible tells us our beauty is not measured by the clothes we wear or how we look. Instead, we have inner beauty, which is based on who we are, not what we look like.

“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’” – 1 Samuel 16:7, NIV

In Samuel 16, the prophet Samuel is told to go meet Jesse’s sons and that the Lord has appointed one of them to be the new king of Israel. Samuel sees Eliab, one of Jesse’s sons, and believes that he must be the one the Lord has chosen to be king. However, the Lord warns Samuel to not be swayed by his looks, because the Lord looks at the heart.

While we humans look at the outside and see what we consider outer beauty, God sees our inner beauty and our hearts. As our looks change, our hearts remain the measurement for our unfading beauty.

In our Christian journeys, we are designed to become more like Christ. When we do, our inner beauty increases.

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6, NIV

Knowing that our beauty is not an outward trait, we can have confidence in Christ. Too often, we let our perception of beauty denigrate our confidence and confuse our identity as bearers of Christ’s image. However, having confidence in and through Christ is not about how we look or feel. Rather, it is about knowing our Creator and that what He created is good enough, as well as the fact that our inner beauty is based on our hearts.

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