The Coreopsis-Part One
The coreopsis fills a garden with cheer.
Being able to keep a cheerful spirit in the midst of a trial is a beautiful thing;
Such beauty as this captured the heart of a king.
The woman that I am describing is Queen Esther, but honestly, she could be any one of us. She is one of the Desert Blooms. She bloomed in harsh conditions and has some characteristics similar to the coreopsis in our desert gardens. Her story is told in the book of Esther in the Old Testament. It has 10 short chapters that read like a fairytale. What you may remember about her is that she was a Jewish orphan named Hadassah who was raised by her cousin, Mordecai. The Bible describes Hadassah (Esther) as being “beautiful of form and face.” Hadassah, as well as many other beautiful virgins were gathered and taken to the King Ahasuerus’ palace in the citadel of Susa. It was here that she would receive 12 months of beauty treatments to prepare her for one night with the king. After that she could be summoned again if the king so desired.
“Esther found favor in the eyes of all who saw her, and the king loved Esther more that all the other women, and she found favor and kindness with him more than all the virgins.” Therefore, the king set the royal crown on her head and made her his queen. (Esther 2) Now it is my guess and according to scripture, that it may have been more than her feminine wiles and her outward beauty that captured the heart of the king. I imagine that she was more than just a pretty face; she was the whole package.
There is a mentality that today’s society is selling to women that is deceptive and demoralizing. We know that we should not buy into this, but we do.
Question: How does the struggle to be “all that” affect our bodies and our souls?
This is what other women have said:
“There is a natural desire that all women have to always look and do our best. (So true!)
The constant striving for perfection can cause burnout, excessive dieting, exercising, and cosmetic surgery. (Uh-oh!)
The high expectations that we have for ourselves may cause us to doubt our own abilities, to never be satisfied with ourselves and could become the catalyst for a poor self-image, depression and addictive behaviors.” (Whoa!)
“The media glorifies the flesh. The flesh refers to more than just our external appearance and the physical allure and desires of the body. The flesh is a way of thinking and a way of gaining meaning and status that stands in opposition to the word of God and his good opinion of you. You see, the flesh sells, but it is a trap used by the enemy to enslave us to our feelings and wrong beliefs. He uses the power of suggestion to tempt us into believing that something other than God will bring us true satisfaction and fulfill all our dreams. (Can you relate?) These suggestions appeal so strongly to our soul that they can actually set up as strongholds in our minds and become addictions if we are not careful. We are constantly battling to believe that we are okay, that we are good enough, and that we are of some value in this world.” (Her Treasures: A Life Brand New page 76)
“When women were asked to name the one woman in their lives who they think is truly beautiful, their examples were surprisingly not the most physically attractive but those who had a certain inner quality.” (Her Treasures: A Life Brand New page 78)
Question: Think about someone who you think is beautiful. In your opinion, what makes a woman truly beautiful?
“We are so quick to tell others that they are beautiful, because we see it in in them; but we can’t seem to accept this for ourselves.” (Her Treasures: A Life Brand New page 78)
Question: What do we focus on so much that tends to veil our own beauty and the knowledge of who we truly are?
Sharon Jaynes put this so well, “But I do know this---no amount of skin creams, makeup, designer clothes, or exercise regimes will make a woman feel truly beautiful, content or fulfilled. If we’re banking on outward appearance to make us happy, we’re headed for emotional bankruptcy.” (Becoming Spiritually Beautiful, Harvest House 2007)
Question: Why would it be important for us to see ourselves and others through God’s eyes, through the eyes of his Grace?
God said that all of creation was good, but after creating man he said that it was very good. (Genesis 1-2) If we are able to see ourselves seen through the eyes of perfect love without judgement or condemnation, then we would be more apt to act like a new creation. That comes only with a relationship with Jesus, with Sonship.
Women are more apt to check themselves out in a mirror than men, but the sad part of this habit is that women are more likely unsatisfied with the image that stares back at them. Would you agree that wanting to be beautiful is a God given dream that has “run amuck?”
“This is comical but so true… A beautiful woman looked into a mirror and thought, ‘What a mess. I need to lose a few pounds.’ An unattractive man with a belly that hung way over his belt looked into a mirror, flexed his muscles, posed, and said out loud for everyone to hear, ‘I’m lookin’ good!”
Neil Anderson wrote that even believers “don’t see themselves the way God sees them, and to that degree, they suffer from a poor self-image. They don’t grasp their true identity. They identify themselves with the wrong Adam.” (Victory Over the Darkness, Bethany House Publishers 2000)
“When a person is reborn, she is taken out of the family of Adam and placed into the family of Christ. She is born-again, not a physical birth, but a spiritual rebirth. She is regenerated. Jesus, the seed of Abraham, is planted into her spirit at this time, and she is declared not guilty by God---she is justified. Her spirit has been infused with the life of Christ and she no longer lives, but Christ lives within her. She becomes a new creation and is given a new identity. She is no longer a slave of sin but is now a slave or righteousness. She has the mind of Christ to guide her and comfort her. Her old nature is gone, and she has been transformed. She has a new and obedient heart. She is now an heir of Christ, a royal priest, a Daughter of Royalty.
So ultimately, when a believer looks into God’s mirror there is truly more to her than what her naked eye can see. If she could look with an unveiled face at her inner self, she would see the righteousness of Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21) This does not mean that we should consider ourselves some sort of lesser god. Remember our views of ourselves are skewed and we have been lied to, and the perceptions of others are just that…perceptions, and not truths. He doesn’t blot out our personalities when we are transformed at salvation. He uses our individual personalities in such a unique way that our own God given purpose and essence of who we are would reflect his glory, his goodness and his majesty to those in our sphere of influence. We don’t need a magic mirror to tell us who really are. Ask yourself this question…who do you think has a better perception of who you really are, your Creator or other creations like yourself?” (Her Treasures: A Life Brand New page 126)
It says in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
Could there be anything more beautiful than the one who takes off the mask that hides her true beauty and puts on her true face reflecting the Lord’s glory? “So, as those who have been chosen by God, holy and beloved…put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which you indeed were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:12-16)
Question: Could it be that this what the King saw in Esther?
Believer, he has made you a new creation and given you a new and obedient heart and a new spirit willing you to walk in his ways. (Ezekiel 36:26-27) Look in his mirror and see who you are. You have captured the heart of the king, the KING OF KINGS, and YOU ARE A TRUE BEAUTY!
In my next post, “The Coreopsis - Part Two, we will find out that Esther was more than just a beautiful woman, but she was a brave one as well.
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