Facilitator’s Notes

Session 1.1: The Beautiful Self

This session aims to help the participants see that they have the potential to be beautiful people, that they are beautiful in the eyes of God and that they can learn to accept the beauty that is within themselves and make life beautiful for others like Jesus did.

Introduction to the topic

People nowadays are obsessed by physical appearance.  Everyone wants to look beautiful.  But beauty is rather subjective. What is beautiful to one person is often ugly to another, and vice versa. If something is regarded as beautiful by a person, it must fulfill his definition and concept of beauty. Regardless of other's opinions, it is ugly if it does not fit his concept of beauty.

How do you define beauty?  What do you considered as beautiful?  How do you measure beauty?  What makes us beautiful?  What destroys beauty?

We are going to talk about beauty today, about what is beautiful for God and how we can all be beautiful people.  If we cannot overcome our desire and obsession for physical beauty, how can we make other people beautiful?  We will look at what really makes us beautiful people for God and for other people. 

How does God see beauty? 

People judge by outward appearances but God does not define beauty by using the criteria people commonly use. God never uses physical, outward appearance to determine beauty but God looks at the inner beauty of the heart. Cf. 1 Sam 16:7

People of one culture seldom see beauty in people of another distinctively different culture. Cf The Jews and the Samaritans in Jesus’ time. Only a divine revelation could convince Peter to enter a Gentile's house and preach the gospel to him (Acts 10).  Cultural preferences and prejudices strongly influence definitions of beauty. God's concept of beauty is distinctively different because it ignores cultural preferences and prejudices. Reverence and righteous living determine spiritual beauty.

Human opinions are strongly influenced by a person's living address, occupation, and social role. When a person speaks of having met some "beautiful people," rarely will those people be persons who are struggling to survive, persons who make their living by menial jobs, or persons who come from "backward" areas.  In contrast, God never notices those things when He considers beauty in people. God never determines beauty by social rank or life circumstances.  Galatians 3:26-28 “We are all children of God through faith in Christ …”

We are all beautiful in the eyes of God because we are all his children.  No matter how ugly we may see ourselves or feel about ourselves inside, in spite of our physical defects and our desire to model ourselves after those the world considers beautiful, we are all uniquely beautiful.

Beauty To God


What makes me beautiful?  What makes me ugly? What is beautiful in God's eyes?

Noting the qualities God has cherished in the lives of other people is one way to determine Gods' concept of beauty.

Noah's implicit trust in God led him to construct a mammoth boat miles from water. Abraham trusted God's promise so implicitly that he would have sacrificed his son of promise without hesitation. Moses yielded total control of his life to God and became the man of meekness. David committed his whole being to doing the will of God. No consequence or shameful treatment could keep Daniel from reverencing his God. People like Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and Timothy were ruled by God in every consideration and decision. They were totally preoccupied with Jesus' will as they shared the gospel with all. In all these qualities God saw great beauty.

While all these people were beautiful to God, virtually nothing is known about their physical appearance. It was not their physique or stateliness but their faith and service that made them beautiful to God. The same was true of God's beautiful women: Rahab, Hannah, Ruth, Deborah, and Mary Magdalene. Those noted for physical beauty were often great spiritual disappointments. Physically beautiful Sarah did not have the faith of Abraham. Saul was handsome, but he was not the godly king God wanted.

The qualities God wants in His people further reveal His concept of beauty.

The beatitudes reveal some of God's standards of beauty. An awareness of one's spiritual poverty, sorrow for wickedness, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, being merciful, having purity of heart, and being a peacemaker are all qualities of beauty. The epistles also stress attributes valued by God: keeping a living faith while enduring physical hardships, controlling the tongue, enduring personal harm to protect the church's influence, making sacrifices for the good of others, and living by Christian convictions in the face of ridicule. All these are beautiful to God.

What is ugly to God?

There is an ugly in God's sight. Do Judas, Ananias, and Sapphira produce a feeling of beauty or ugliness? Many in every age have been ugly in God's sight. Arrogance, deceit, sacrificing the innocent, scheming for wicked purposes, running to trouble, perjury, and creating division are ugly to God (Proverbs 6:16-19). Other ugly people include those who live for pleasure, the selfish, the faithless, those who indulge their passions, those who love money, and those who discourage the righteous. Those who are controlled by sin are ugly in God's sight.

Play the Song “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera at some stage during the session.

Scripture Reading:            Matthew 5:1-12 or Luke 6:20-26

Discussion Questions

Reflection

The Beautiful Self: acquiring beauty

Every person has the power in Christ to change his spiritual appearance. No person has to be ugly in God's sight. Jesus can change any ugly "me" into a beautiful "me" by forgiveness and by teaching one how to live. The most beautiful Christians alive at one time were ugly sinners. No one inherits spiritual beauty; everyone develops such beauty by living in Christ.

Every beautiful spiritual quality can be produced in a person who belongs to Christ and lets Christ rule his life. Through His Word, Jesus can teach anyone how to live. Through faith Jesus can give anyone the power to live a new life.

Every ugly spiritual quality can be destroyed by Christ.

Every past sin can be forgiven and erased from God's memory (Hebrews 8:12). One can learn how to endure temptations (I Corinthians 10:13). Provision has been made for the inevitable mistakes a Christian will make (I John 1:9-2:2).

A warning is in order. A beautiful appearance through neglect can become horribly ugly. A beautiful life of righteousness can become horribly ugly through neglect. Spiritual beauty must never be taken for granted nor be neglected. It must be remembered it is possible to be one of society's most impressive people and be one of the ugliest persons God knows. It is also possible to be an unknown in society and to be radiantly beautiful in the eyes of God. What God sees when He looks at a person is determined by the person alone.