Back to the Garden

“God is so _____.†What word would you put in that blank? Holy? Good? Big? All these are true! But one word I haven’t thought of putting there until lately is beautiful. I don’t often think of God as beautiful, but according to Scripture, He is!

In Psalm 27, David talks about how desperately he wants to be with God, “gazing on the beauty of the Lord.†I often think of beauty as something trivial—after all, I can’t see any practical purpose for it, and at times it can be sinfully misused. But God doesn’t seem to think beauty is trivial. In fact, He intentionally infused creation with beauty.

We see this in Genesis 2:9. God created trees to produce food, but He also created them simply to be pretty. I love that! And, in Exodus 28:2, when God is giving His people instructions on how to create clothing for the priests (whose job was to be His representatives on earth), He specifically says that these clothes are supposed to be beautiful.

Then, if we move on to Exodus 35:30-35, we come to one of my favorite passages in the Bible. This is the first time in Scripture that we see God filling someone with His Holy Spirit to help them accomplish a certain task. And who are the people the Holy Spirit fills? Artists. Specifically, Bezalel and Oholiab, who were skilled craftsmen called to build the Tabernacle—a beautiful dwelling place for God to be with His people.

God is the source of all beauty. Just look at the beauty He put into creation! And, through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, God has filled His people with the same creative Holy Spirit that equipped Bezalel and Oholiab to build the tabernacle. As God’s image-bearers, we can bring Him glory and honor when we create something beautiful. And every time we behold something breathtaking made by God or His image-bearers, we can thank our beautiful God. • Taylor Eising

• There are so many ways to create beauty, like painting, photography, filmmaking, building, making music, dancing, writing, sewing, gardening, drawing, or cooking (that’s my favorite—it’s art you can eat!). What are your favorite ways? How do these bring glory to God?

• What part of creation do you find the most beautiful? What does it tell you about God?

I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking him in his temple. Psalm 27:4 (CSB)

Read Verses:

Genesis 3:20-24; Luke 23:32-43; Galatians 4:4; Revelation 2:7