In what way did you find beauty this week and how has it helped you to discover your true self?
A while back I came up with that question. I figured the answer would lie in nature or art, but in not knowing what to really expect, I put it aside and tried not to think about it. I simply hoped I would know by the weeks end.
The following day I was listening to the B Hooked podcast. In the episode, a guest mentioned something that spoke to my heart.
True beauty lies in sharing.
I wish I could give the woman who said it credit, but it was so long ago, I don’t remember. If someone should ever come across it, please let me know and I will update this writing, In any event, I couldn’t help but to notice that her statement coincided with my question. This was definitely not an answer I had expected and I definitely could not put it out of my head. True beauty really does lie and sharing, but what exactly does that mean? I had to prayerfully explore.
True beauty lies in sharing because all that we have is a gift from God. He shares all His gifts and talents with us and because we couldn’t each possibly have all His gifts, He desires that we share what we have been given.
Being one in the Body of Christ, we then have all gifts. We can experience parts of Jesus that we wouldn’t know were it not for the sharing of others. We can never fully know God. He is infinite. We can, however, know Him a little more fully by the sharing of others and whenever Jesus is known and spread throughout the world, love and beauty grow. The world, the Body of Christ, grows more loving and more beautiful.
I was intending on seeing something beautiful. I was expecting to experience beauty created by God in nature or by someone else. What I never expected to learn was that I have true beauty simply because I have Jesus within and can share Him with others. That sharing is what makes us beautiful. Imagine that! We are beautiful because we share, not because of our exterior looks or how much money and time we spend on beauty products and services.
In trying to know our true selves, we can say that all we have comes from Jesus and that makes us beautiful. He makes all of us beautiful. Beauty is definitely not skin deep. It’s much, much deeper.
Sharing our gifts is not so we can brag. We are sharing the gifts Jesus has because He first chose to share them with us. On our own, we would have nothing. He couldn’t physically be with all of us all at once, but through the Holy Spirit He devised a way to do just that. That is amazing!
We experience God’s love when He gives us a gift directly. He can experience our love being returned to Him when we use it and also in His union with the person who is receiving it from us. It is a sharing of love. What can be more beautiful?
Sharing our gifts is not so we can be liked, but it naturally helps build a commUnity. Whether it is a commUnity of two or more, we are not alone.
By the very gifts we have been given, we look for people who are like minded and can share our interests. The gifts we have been given are the very foundations of all communities.
Every commUnity, is a foreshadowing of Heaven, where we are all together as one in the family of God. Whether we are in a family or a club, we are a commUnity of sharing and all gifts should be shared and received with love. To ignore or judge a gift given or to try and hide our own gifts is to stifle the beauty, love and union of God, our very purpose.
All is a gift. What a tremendous purpose we have because we share. I believe I once read that Mr. Rogers said share everything with at least one person. That makes it more doable. So often we receive gifts and don’t even realize it because they seem so small, but by their very size, they are more doable. The uplifting thought, the cup of water, the photo you took…As long as they aren’t sinful, they are all ways that help us and the receiver get a glimpse of God and bring Him glory. For some it may seem uncomfortable at first, but we should strive to have the heart for it. If your heart is of love, you don’t have to worry about being overbearing. You won’t be.
It may look or feel like a great suffering at times, but it is always a way of bringing Jesus to others.
When mindful that we would not have the gift without Jesus, we experience great union with Him. We become the unceasing prayer by our very lives. It is in that union that He makes us beautiful.
It’s always easier to give than receive. It is always easier to give the cup of water than to receive it. When someone shares with us, we should rejoice. Pride and embarrassment have no room.
We need to welcome the sharing of others with a thankful heart and hear in the deep recesses of a heart, “It is I, Jesus.”
What an awesome realization in being able to know our true selves. Beauty lies in sharing all that is given to us because all we have is Jesus. All we have and receive is Him. He is our true self. To know any goodness we possess is to know Jesus.
QUESTIONS TO PRAYERFULLY PONDER WITH GOD
All our gifts come from God. Pray and meditate on James 1:17
We are meant to share and receive gifts with a joyful heart. Pray and meditate on Luke 1:26-56
What gifts do you possess?
Do you hoard your gifts? If so, can you take small steps to begin sharing them?
Do you share your knowledge, inspirations and skills or do you judge them to be of nothing?
If you judge, why do you judge gifts given to you as not being of any worth? Try to start recognizing them for the gifts they truly are.
Do you judge the gifts of others? Do you try and stifle them? Do you receive the gift of who others are as if you are receiving Jesus?
Reflect on the sharing of your gifts as a means of helping others to know Jesus more fully.
Reflect on receiving the gifts others give you as a means of knowing Jesus more fully.
Reflect on the beauty you reflect when you share.
Reflect on your gifts being a means for you to find a commUnity to share, help and be in Union with.
Sharing is a form of sacrifice. Reflect on the importance of being mindful that in sharing gifts and receiving them, we are in Union with Jesus and become the prayer by our very lives.