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Day 209, or July 28. Beauty is only skin deep.

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Our thoughts today are rooted in Isaiah chapter 53, verse 2.

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He grew up before him, like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.

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He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we

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should desire him.

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First the big picture surrounding this verse.

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These chapters are a perfect description of a man who would be born centuries after Isaiah.

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The Jews had grown to expect an all-conquering warrior Messiah.

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Isaiah's description, however, is probably a major one that Jesus uses on the road to

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Emmaus in Luke chapter 24, verse 27.

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And now our action step for today.

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There is no record of what Jesus looked like.

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Was he tall or short?

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Did he have long hair or short hair?

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Was he clean shaven or did he have a beard?

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Did he always wear white clothing and speak in King James English as in many Hollywood

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films?

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Probably in some films he was blonde and had blue eyes.

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That would be quite unusual, to say the least, for a Jewish man of that time.

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Throughout the centuries pictures have been painted and statues sculptured, showing markedly

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different images of Jesus.

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But in all honesty we simply don't know.

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Isaiah tells us that it's not important.

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Physical attraction tends to be short-lived, even if it's a common first step between

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men and women.

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Lasting relationships are founded on more than physical attraction.

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Isaiah tells his readers that Messiah would be vulnerable like a tender shoot, a little

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baby, and not particularly big or well built.

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His hearers would be attracted to him by his personality and charisma.

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All we know of Jesus is what he said and did, and that makes him immensely attractive.

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He was a man's man who worked hard as a carpenter and withstood a beating that killed some men.

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He was a tender man who loved children.

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He was a compassionate man who treated women graciously.

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He was a loving man who died for his friends and enemies.

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He always practiced what he preached, and so should we.