Jesus & Style
Jesus & style may not seem like the obvious combination. I mean … I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t have multiple robes with matching colored sandels to walk the many miles he covered throughout His ministry and I’m pretty sure He didn’t have the shape of his face analyzed to determine the best cut for His hair. These things didn’t matter to Jesus. They were not relevant to His ministry and His message. YET, when we look closely at His word and what the bible has to say about beauty, His daughters, and the purpose He has in store for us, I think you’ll see the connection. But don’t take my word for it - Let me try to make my case below with a few scriptures that I love!
‘Let your true beauty come from your inner personality, not a focus on the external. For lasting beauty comes from a gentle and peaceful spirit, which is previous in God’s sight and is much more important than the outward adornment of elaborate hair, jewelry, and fine clothes.’ (1 Peter 3:3-4 TPT)
I love this scripture so much in that it CLEARLY emphasizes that inner beauty is where it’s at and I could not agree more. And frankly - I wanted to start with this scripture because I wanted to address the elephant in the room. I think women of the church get tripped up with this scripture because they take it to mean that outer beauty is BAD. Not the case. You have to apply it the same would as you do in God’s word about money. Money in itself is not bad. Yet the LOVE is money is bad (1 Timothy 6:10). Same thing here. A woman’s (or a man’s) love (and therefore her heart) for Jesus is what makes her beautiful. NOT her hair or her outfit, therefore we have to be careful to put those things in their place regardless of what the world tries to make us believe. The world loves to make us think that outer beauty is what matters. Ahem - the beauty & anti-aging industry alone is worth billions and the weight loss industry is worth trillions…case in point. However, as we know, God’s economy is upside down. Bottom line - inner beauty (visa vi your love for God) is numero uno.
‘I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.’ (Psalm 139:14 ESV)
Okay, next very important point to understand is that God created us in His own image (Genesis 1:27) and everything God creates is GOOD. Therefore, we are beautiful, and perfect, and wonderful. In fact, one the scriptures that has become near and dear to my heart is Luke 12:27 which says, ‘Think about the lilies. They grow and become beautiful, not because they work hard to strive to clothe themselves. Yet not even Solomon, wearing his kingly garments of splendor, could be compared to a field of lilies. If God can clothe the field and meadows with grass and flowers, can’t he clothe you as well, O struggling one with so many doubts?’ OH MAN - there is so much goodness in that scripture that I could go on about but for the purpose of this here, I want to just focus on the first part: How God created the lilies, that simply sit there and grow in their beauty, yet how on earth do we struggle with our own insecurities when God created US, beautiful US, for a purpose WAY greater than the lilies. So bottom line on this one - you are BEAUTIFUL because God made you. End of story.
‘Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ (Matthew 28:18-20)
Okay, clearly I am no bible scholar here; however, I’m pretty sure there is a reason why they call this set of scriptures ‘The Great Commission’ and that is because it is very clearly put by Jesus, as some of his final words on earth were spoken: Our job - our commission - is to go and make disciples. Basically - our job is to lead people to Christ. Every single believer has one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to love and serve people like Jesus did for the purpose of leading people to Christ. Now - a lot is written in scripture about how we all do that differently based on how He made us and the gifts that we each bring to the job, yet bottom line is this - our job here on earth is to lead people to Christ.
Okay - one more here to make my final point, and this one is my absolute FAVORITE scripture (and clearly I love several!)
‘Here’s another way to put it: You are here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand - SHINE!’ (Matthew 5:14-15 MSG)
Ahhh - such goodness right there! Okay, I’m going to make this one super simple - because honestly, it really really is. YOU were made to SHINE! You were not meant to live in hiding. Nor were you meant to be silent. And you certainly were not made to be bland or blah. You are the salt of the earth! A city on a hide that was meant to shine bright. To lead people home. The BEST way to do that is in your own unique way, in the way that God designed YOU. I believe that is what this scripture means when it says ‘bringing out God-colors in the world’. Each of us is our own unique color or brand, if you will. And so this set of scriptures (bottom line) calls each one of us to shine brightly, in our own color, in a big and very public way!
So friend - let’s pull this all together.
Your love for God is the most important
THIS love, and everything else about you, is beautiful
As a Christ believer, your job here on earth is to lead people to Christ
You carry out your job in your own unique way, shining BRIGHTLY, using the gifts, skills & experiences that God created you with
Make sense so far? Okay good. Now, here is where I come in as a Christian Image Consultant. Again, keeping in mind that God’s economy is often opposite from the world’s - my job as a Christian Image Consultant is to help you accomplish your job here on earth - the one where you lead people to Christ by shining BRIGHTLY in the way that God created you.
AHHHH so fun, right?! Yes, it is MY job to 1) help you get clear on what your unique style IS and then 2) help you to use that style to shine BRIGHTLY your own light brightly in the world!
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to dive DEEPER into what exactly I do and how I do that. We are going to talk about things like creating style statements, knowing and highlighting which colors highlight your natural features best, how to best dress and style your body type, facial features, and hair. SO many fun things! Yet - remember this:
Charm is deceptive and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. (Proverbs 31:30 NLT)
In the end, it’s not about what you look like, but it’s about what is in your HEART!
I can’t wait to share more, friends! Until then - be blessed!
Tammy