It’s Friday…Looks Can Be Deceiving

We’re hours away from Passion Week. A week when the humility of Jesus – our Savior – will forever be on display, and for everyone to never forget. “He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes, or decide by what He hears with His ears.” That’s what we’re told about The Messiah back in Isaiah 11:3; His judgments on behalf of the poor or oppressed would not be swayed by how things look on the surface. Now in Isaiah 53, we’re given the impression that we shouldn’t be swayed by external appearance either.

“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.”  (Isaiah 53:2)

After all, The Messiah seemed to be a commoner from the poorer part of the country – no high position in society, no discernable pedigree, and no bank account. Even more, He died a disgraceful death among criminals, clearly outside the favor of God, right? If we judged by what we saw with our eyes, we should reject Him – like most did. Then again, Looks Can Be Deceiving.

That’s still the way it is. Jesus is rejected by many today because those who claim to follow Him don’t look all that impressive. We don’t influence culture like the media does, we don’t influence the economy like Wall Street does, and we don’t influence policy like Washington does. We also make a lot of mistakes and blend in with the culture; non-believers sometime have a hard time recognizing us as one with Him. No doubt, if the world judges by appearances, Jesus will still be rejected often.

But Jesus is now resurrected and exalted. His Spirit does the miracles He did and transforms us, just as His disciples were transformed. For those with eyes to see and ears to hear, there is beauty and majesty to be found in our Savior. He is what we truly desire.

A constant temptation for those of us who desire to follow Christ comes from the tension between the appeal of this world, with all its glamour and glitter, and the appeal of Jesus, with all His humility and grace. The irony is, choosing Jesus will dazzle us in every way over the course of eternity, and choosing the world will disappoint us quickly. So, when we’re tempted between the two worlds – and we will be, let’s choose Jesus. It is only in Him that beauty and majesty really are found.

Have a beautiful weekend. Make it better by worshiping The LORD with those who see Him clearly, obey His Word completely, and are passionate about how He lived His life in humility.

All For Jesus – Nothing More, Nothing Less, Nothing Else.

“He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, The King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see, to Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15b-16)