MARCH 26, 2010

IMAGES

OF GLORY

Scripture Reading- 1 Corinthians 11:15a- "But if a woman have long hair,

it is a glory to her."

1 Peter 3:3- "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning

of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold,

or of putting on of appeal."

God says that a woman's hair is her glory. Yet He clearly says in 1 Peter 3 that a woman's true beauty is not the arrangement of her hair or her outward appearance. It is the inner person of the heart. A truly beautiful woman is not one with the right hair style, though God says her hair "is a glory to her." True beauty derives from a right relationship with the Lord. That is, a truly beautiful woman is one who has invested as much in her spiritual life as she has in arranging her outward appearance.

God also says that "the woman is the glory of the man" ( 1 Cor. 11:7 ). The Bible does not say that women shouldn't pay attention to how they look. What is says is that a woman's true beauty is an inner beauty that comes from a right relationship with God, with her husband, and with those around her- even though her hair is her glory.

Many men and women try to achieve glory by looking glorious, but that glory doesn't exist if they have nothing internal to back it up. Our society places great emphasis on the outward appearance, and often certain people will look glorious to us. They may look appealing and important. But as we get to know them, we will realize that they have nothing inside to back up their glorious appearance. True glory comes from within, and that fact is certainly true of the glory of God.

SELAH: Ask family members to list qualities of God that reveal His glory. Take time to thank God for who He is in Himself and for the qualities that make Him so glorious.

-T.P. Johnston, Jr.-