What is beauty?

We usually think of something beautiful as something pleasing to look at—something attractive, impressive, or extraordinary.

But what if true beauty is something deeper?

What if beauty is found in character?

And what if the most beautiful thing God has ever revealed to us is found in a place that, at first glance, looks anything but beautiful?

A place of suffering.

A place of blood.

A place of death.

The cross.

This is the story of beautiful grace.

What is beauty?

In the Bible, beauty is not merely about external features—things that change, fade, and eventually pass away. True beauty reveals something of the character and nature of a person.

And ultimately, God Himself is the foundation of all beauty.

Beauty begins with God and His perfections.

1 Peter 3:3-4 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

The beauty Scripture commends is not merely something we see, hear, smell, feel, or taste.

It is beauty that reflects character.

Beauty that is humble, gentle, righteous, and reverent.

And that beauty ultimately points us back to the One who defines beauty.

Psalm 27:4 One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple

David’s desire was not simply to admire something beautiful.

He desired God Himself.

To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord is to behold His holiness, His goodness, His glory, and His character.

And when we begin to understand the beauty of God, we can begin to understand the beauty of His grace.

So, what is grace?

Grace is God freely giving favor to those who have not earned it and do not deserve it.

Grace is not merely a passive overlooking of our sin.

Grace is the active, generous work of God toward sinners.

Grace is beautiful because it reveals the kindness, mercy, favor, and restoring power of God.

The Bible portrays grace as more than simply forgiveness or God ignoring sin.

Grace displays the character of God.

It flows from who He is and from the abundance of who He is.

John 1:16-17 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For
the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ

Grace comes from His fullness.

God does not run out of grace.

He does not give reluctantly.

He gives from the abundance of who He is.

And in His grace, God brings sinners to Himself.

Beauty is that which reveals God is holy, good, and glorious.

And grace is beautiful because it reveals those very things in the way God saves sinners.

Picture a high-quality diamond resting on a black cloth.

The darkness surrounding the diamond does not make the diamond beautiful.

But it makes its brilliance stand out.

In a similar way, the darkness and ugliness of our sin provide the backdrop against which the magnificence of God’s grace is revealed.

Romans 5:20-21 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Suffering and pain do not mean that God’s grace has failed.

They do not mean that His grace is insufficient.

We live in a fallen world where the effects of sin still surround us.

But even there, God’s grace is revealed.

In suffering, God has not abandoned His people.

He is present.

He sustains.

He comforts.

And He works even through the things we would never have chosen for ourselves.

Sin and its consequences may increase.

But God’s grace is greater.

Ephesians 1:7-8 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us,

This grace flows from God’s generosity.

God does not save us because of our merit.

He does not save us because we are worthy.

He saves us according to the riches of His grace.

But grace does not simply overlook our sin.

And grace does not come without a cost.

While grace is God’s free gift to us, it was not free.

Grace came at a cost.

The cost was the cross.

The Father gave His Son.

The Son willingly laid down His life for His people.

His body was broken.

His blood was poured out.

And through His sacrifice, freedom was purchased for me.

Sin comes with a cost.

And at the cross, Christ paid it.

The price of our redemption was not small.

It was costly, painful, horrifying, and extravagant.

The cross shows us something about the seriousness of our sin.

But it also shows us something about the immeasurable love of God.

As one writer has said, the cross shows us just how sinful we are—more sinful than we imagined.

And it shows us how deeply we are loved—God loving us more than we could imagine or deserve.

The cross is a scene of suffering, violence, and death.

And yet, this is where the beauty of grace is displayed.

Michael Card called it a “violent grace.”

It is a paradox that leaves us in awe:

Pain leading to redemption.

Suffering leading to life.

Death leading to resurrection.

Judgment falling upon Christ so that mercy might be extended to His people.

The ugliness of the cross reveals the beauty of the grace it accomplishes.

Psalm 96:9 says Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth

And for those who belong to Christ, His grace does not abandon us.

The God who saves His people is faithful to preserve them.

But grace does more than forgive.

Grace transforms.

Grace does not simply cover our sin.

God is making us new. 2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come

This is the transforming work of God.

And this salvation is entirely a gift.

Eph 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

We do not contribute our own righteousness to God’s grace.

We do not earn it.

We do not deserve it.

Salvation is God’s gift—from beginning to end.

God, in His grace, brings us to Himself.

He calls sinners to Himself and, by His Spirit, gives new life to those who were spiritually dead.

And the grace that saves us is the grace that continues to transform us.

God restores what sin has broken.

He brings us from death to life.

From alienation to reconciliation.

From guilt to forgiveness.

And ultimately, from brokenness toward the wholeness and peace found in Christ.

Grace and beauty ultimately reflect the holiness of God.

At the cross, we see both the seriousness of God’s hatred of sin and the depth of His love for His people.

We see the righteousness of God.

We see the justice of God.

And we see the mercy of God.

We see the extraordinary extent of the rescue He accomplished through Jesus Christ.

And this grace, as free as it is, is not a blanket pass that makes our response irrelevant.

The gospel calls us to repent and believe.

To acknowledge that our sin is truly our sin.

To recognize that our rebellion against God is deserving of judgment.

And to trust that Jesus Christ alone is sufficient to save us.

The cross was not merely something that happened to Jesus.

It was the place where Christ bore the punishment deserved by sinners and accomplished redemption for His people.

So how will we respond?

I once heard someone say something like this:

If you want to live your life as though God does not exist, as though Jesus does not matter, then this is not real.

So be it.

And ultimately, you will get what you wanted—

a life and an eternity without God.

But in His beauty and grace, God has made a way of salvation.

He sent His Son.

Christ lived the righteous life we could never live.

He died the death we deserved.

He rose again in victory.

And now, through faith in Christ, sinners can be reconciled to God.

This is beautiful grace.

Grace that forgives.

Grace that redeems.

Grace that transforms.

Grace that sustains.

Grace that brings us home.

And when we finally see the beauty of God’s grace, we discover that the beauty was never merely in the gift.

The beauty was always in the Giver.

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And leave a comment: What do beauty and grace mean to you?

And remember:

Create. Don’t Copy.

AI Disclaimer. All content is original material. AI was used for research (Logos Bible Software), editing for typos, grammar and consistency. AI also used to generate image.