Over a year ago, I started receiving monthly issues of the free publication "Voice of the Martyrs." Quite honestly, I don't always take the time to read it, but whenever I take the time to, it's truly inspiring to see what Christians worldwide are willing to go through for their faith in Jesus.
Well, when last month's issue arrived, I couldn't help being startled by the picture above, as it was printed in full color on the eight and a half by eleven inch cover of the magazine. You see, this precious woman from Indonesia, Yubelina, was burned when Muslims overtook her village. And she's still smiling.
Today I received another issue of VOM. It mentioned Yubelina's photo, and how many people were disgruntled by their using it as the cover of their magazine. Some people even asked to be taken off of their mailing list because they were offended by her face.
Americans today are obsessed with appearance. Walking the grocery store aisles today, I was amazed by how many products we use to try to make ourselves feel more attractive. I even began to worry about myself when I picked up the new Land's End swimsuit catalog from our counter and started perusing it this evening.
Am I skinny enough? Am I pretty enough? What does everyone else think about me? We often ask ourselves these questions. Of course we judge ourselves this way- everybody is caught up in the self-image craze, and we critique people accordingly.
Perhaps that's why people were offended by Yubelina. We're so used to starved, photoshopped models that we have no gadge for beauty.
David says in Psalm 27:4, "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 in His temple."
Yet in Isaiah 53:2 we read, "He had no form or splendor that we should look at Him, no appearance that we should desire Him."
Hmm...then that must mean that the sort of beauty God possesses must not resemble the earthly beauty that we have grown accustomed to admiring. And, if that's the case, then, if we truly hope to reflect Him, it probably doesn't have a lot to do with the way we look.
I truly believe that Yubelina is a beautiful woman. At least, she's a beautiful woman the way that I desire to be beautiful. And it pains me to think that her brothers and sisters in Christ were ashamed to look upon her lovliness, and that my very first thought when I first saw her was the same as theirs.
What are we seeking after? If we pursue temporary beauty, we are sure to end up propped up, dyed, stuffed, painted and, most of all, hollow.
There is so much more in store for us.
"From Zion, the perfection of beauty, God appears in radiance." Psalm 50:2
Yubelina was willing to give up every hope of being beautiful by the world's standards for the glory of her King. What did I do for my Jesus today? Did I attempt to reflect His perfect beauty by living as He would, or did I pursue the shallow, fleeting standard of beauty that the world applauds?
Thankfully, it's after midnight, so, technically, it's a new day and I get to try again. =) I just can't forget to ask God for His enabling grace.
3 comments:
I was looking for Yubelina's picture and came across your blog. She has the most beautiful smile I have ever seen!
Yes she is Beautiful and a Beautiful smile!
I have only recently seen the magazine cover with the picture of Yubelina and I was struck by the beauty of her face as others seem to have discovered also. Perhaps it is a beauty Jesus has conferred on her in the same way that the apostle Paul could boast of the scars he bore as helping him resemble his Lord.
God uses many things in our lives to bring us closer to him and for me, this picture of smiling loveliness, does just that. Yubelinas suffering has not been in vain as I am sure many people, ordinary people like me, have seen in her face something of heavenly beauty. May God continue to bless her life and her testimony to faith in Jesus.
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