“Beauty from Within”
By Manju Bharwani Yu

When I was in primary school, I didn't like the way my nose stood out. Believe it or not, I was pretty skinny and my hair was like the Beatles’ rock star “Ringo”. And in High School, because of my short dark hair and boyish manner, I was asked to play the role of Adam of the Bible in one of our school plays. Given the fact that I was in an all-girl school, it was amusing but embarrassing to find out that the audience thought the school hired a male actor for such a special occasion. Now that I'm older, I hoped things might have changed, but I was wrong. In one of my visit to a clinic, one lady amusingly came up to me and told me that I bear a resemblance to a Bollywood Star. "Wow, finally!" I thought to myself, "Before it was Ringo Starr and now a Bollywood Star..." You know how flattering that was? Well, it was good while it lasted, to my surprise, she meant it to be a male actor. Let's think for a moment. Is there anything about yourself that you wish you could change—but can't? I know I did. But let's consider for a minute about Who made you the way you are.

In Psalm 139, the psalmist declared, “God formed you and wove you together in your mother's womb. Before anyone else even cought a sight of you, God knew all about you! He planned you; you were completely His idea. Before you were even born, God skillfully formed you exactly the way He wanted you to be.” You are therefore not an accident or an after thought. ²

“There are some things about ourselves that we can change. On the other hand, there are many things we can't either. We need to accepted the fact that the way we look, the way we talk, and the way we smile are all part of God's master creation. God made you exactly the way you are, because He has a loving purpose in mind for you. His Word says that His creation of you is a reason for you to praise Him! Have you ever done that?”³

I learned one thing on my way home from the clinic. I learned that what we cannot change, we live it to God. Don’t go out and have all that expensive surgery and face-lift and alter God's master piece. On the contrary, we need to be more excited in what God can change in us. How much better we would look in the eyes of God and men, if we have developed a praise-worthy character. God can change us into the person He wants us to be. I think beyond the physical aspect of men, there is an utterly more important aspect of God's work of art. God is interested in who we are inside than what we look like outside. God desires to change us inside and develop a character towards one that will glorify Him. And because He is the One who made us, the real beauty evidently comes from within.

1 Bollywood is the Indian counter-part of Hollywood.
2 PSALM 139, paraphrased
3 Kids4Truth.com