As I pondered this prompt, I remembered the idiom, “Beauty is in the
eye of the beholder.” I discovered an interesting Biblical word study related to the word, “beholding”
in 2 Corinthians 3:18:
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.—2 Corinthians 3:18 NASB
And we, with our unveiled faces reflecting like mirrors the brightness of the Lord, all grow brighter and brighter as we are turned into the image that we reflect; this is the work of the Lord who is Spirit.—2 Corinthians 3:18 JB
One translation says,
beholding as in a mirror another says, reflecting like mirrors. The
verb katoptrizo can be translated either “reflecting” or “beholding"
“with unveiled face, beholding” (RSV)
“beholding as in a glass” (KJV)
“reflecting like mirrors” (JB)
“be mirrors that brightly reflect” (TLB)
“we . . all reflect the Lord’s glory” (NIV)
It seems the Holy Spirit intentionally selected a verb that would remind
us to do both—beholding our Lord Jesus Christ so intently that we can’t help
but reflect Him.
To behold your face in a mirror is to study, to stare, to contemplate. Jesus
is the source; we are the glass. Jesus is the light; we are the mirrors. Jesus sends the message; we mirror it.
“As He is, so are we in this world”...as we behold Jesus, we are unconscious
of the change in us, we are reflecting His beauty, His love for us.
We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.—1 John 4:16-18
Let the King be enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord.—Psalm 45:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.—Ecclesiastes 3:11
Christian Singer/Songwriter Ginny Owens has expressed my heart in
these lyrics from her song, “Call Me Beautiful” "You call me beautiful...You call me beautiful...And say You've loved me all along...And You've always held the keys to unlock my soul...Oh, You call me beautiful."
In what ways are you reflecting Who you are beholding? As Jesus is, so
are you in this world…you’re beautiful…just as you are!
