Day 209, or July 28. Beauty is only skin deep.
Our thoughts today are rooted in Isaiah chapter 53, verse 2.
He grew up before him, like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we
should desire him.
First the big picture surrounding this verse.
These chapters are a perfect description of a man who would be born centuries after Isaiah.
The Jews had grown to expect an all-conquering warrior Messiah.
Isaiah's description, however, is probably a major one that Jesus uses on the road to
Emmaus in Luke chapter 24, verse 27.
And now our action step for today.
There is no record of what Jesus looked like.
Was he tall or short?
Did he have long hair or short hair?
Was he clean shaven or did he have a beard?
Did he always wear white clothing and speak in King James English as in many Hollywood
films?
Probably in some films he was blonde and had blue eyes.
That would be quite unusual, to say the least, for a Jewish man of that time.
Throughout the centuries pictures have been painted and statues sculptured, showing markedly
different images of Jesus.
But in all honesty we simply don't know.
Isaiah tells us that it's not important.
Physical attraction tends to be short-lived, even if it's a common first step between
men and women.
Lasting relationships are founded on more than physical attraction.
Isaiah tells his readers that Messiah would be vulnerable like a tender shoot, a little
baby, and not particularly big or well built.
His hearers would be attracted to him by his personality and charisma.
All we know of Jesus is what he said and did, and that makes him immensely attractive.
He was a man's man who worked hard as a carpenter and withstood a beating that killed some men.
He was a tender man who loved children.
He was a compassionate man who treated women graciously.
He was a loving man who died for his friends and enemies.
He always practiced what he preached, and so should we.