Inner beauty

 

Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. – 1 Peter 3.3-3.4

 

This is a lovely passage. It speaks to the lives of godly women.

 

I am grateful for the many godly women in my life through the years. I feel a bit funny writing about this, but these are just expanded or adapted versions of my own personal devotions.

 

The world is trying to teach us that there is no difference between men and women. They would tell us that gender is meaningless. The word of God teaches the opposite. God made us unique and special. We made us to be men and women as equal parts of creation.

 

Here there are words for godly women. He tells them how to find real beauty. He takes away the world’s pressure on outward appearances. He tells us that true beauty comes from within.

 

There is no better argument for the grace of God than the inner beauty of a godly woman. Her gentle and quiet spirit is a testimony to the grace of God in a rough and tumble world. When Mary goes with me into one of those rougher places the whole demeanour. She is a picture of gentleness and quietness has an impact in nearly every situation.

 

She is a beautiful woman, more beautiful than the day I met her. Then I only saw her outward beauty, but now I can see the wholeness of her beauty.