How to Have a Beautiful Life…

Written by Jimmie Burroughs

Let’s not kid ourselves; life is difficult at the best. There are a lot of troubles that each person must face. The Bible declares that, “A man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward”. So how could anyone ever expect life to be beautiful?

A beautiful life does not mean a life void of trouble; trouble is certain in this life. The beautiful life is a gift from God that includes his presence and his purpose.

After I wrote this article I Googled the title to see how competitive it was. Well, it is very competitive, with near a billion and a half entries. I looked at the ten top entries on the first page and while the information was good, none of it gave a clear direction on how really to have a beautiful life. There was no mention of God at all. Most believe there is a God, so how could life be beautiful if it does not include him that created all life?

The beautiful life is something you have to experience to understand. It is like water skiing…You don’t know how great it feels until you actually do it.

The scripture says that the feet are beautiful of those who love the Lord. Even the feet which might be considered one of the lesser features when considering beauty? How much more beautiful is the complete person who has received God’s gift of a beautiful life?

The beautiful life is all about God and does not exist apart from him. It is true that we can have pleasure; enjoy the finer things of life and generally have a good life but only through God can we reach the heights of the beautiful life.

The beautiful life does not require money, recognition or material wealth; all it requires is God. I suppose that the normal definition of the beautiful life from a world perspective would include wealth, physical beauty, and notoriety as well a collection of personal growth principles.

History is filled with people who had all of those things but had a miserable existence. So needless to say those things alone including any number of other things we might want to add fall short of producing the beautiful life.

“How to have a beautiful life” requires three things:

1. A Spiritual connection with God

2. Daily walking with God

3. Fulfilling God’s purpose for your life

Spiritual Connection with God

When sin entered the world, it created a disconnect from God and brought man to his present sad state. It is therefore logical that a connection to God is necessary to restore the original state of a beautiful life.

Beauty starts from the inside. Makes no difference how beautiful a person is on the outside if there is no inner beauty. While outward beauty does attract, it alone lacks the drawing power or meaning of inner beauty. It is true that when inner beauty is combined with outward beauty, it is something to behold but of the two, inner beauty wins out as by far the greatest.

What is required for a spiritual connection with God? God gave us those requirements and it is easy to understand and even easier to comply with. Here are the steps:

Our condition: First, we must understand that we are separated from God. This is an inherited condition from birth. The Bible is clear on this: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The bible also says, “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23). Death means separation; thus our sins separated us from birth from any relationship with God. Therefore, the very first thing that we must acknowledge is that we are lost and our sins have alienated from God and we need a redeemer.

Christ the Lord is that redeemer: He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life and no man cometh unto the Father but by me”. (John 14:6)

God’s remedy: Second, we must understand clearly who Jesus is and what he did for us. Jesus is the son of God equal to the Father and is far more than a rabbi (teacher), a prophet or just a good person. He was virgin born; he lived a life completely free from sin; he was crucified and was buried and rose again on the third day. He ascended into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father.

Jesus paid in full the penalty for our sins; He is our redeemer who reconciles us to the Father. Jesus died for us on the cross: “Christ also hath once suffered for our sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3-18).

Because of our sin, there is a great gulf fixed between us and God and we can’t cross it on our own. We can never be good enough; we can never buy our way through charitable giving, neither is there any other way. Jesus is the only way (John 14-6). It is only by his cross that we are able to span the gulf that separates us from God.

Jesus is the only remedy for our sin, had there been an easier or better way, God would not have sacrificed his son. The penalty for sin is great therefore the price was great; it required the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus to meet God’s requirement for reconciliation.

Our responsibility: The only response on our part that will be acceptable to God is to repent and trust in Jesus as savior.

I said earlier that each step in the process of reconciliation is vital and must not be omitted. Personal repentance is absolutely necessary. The word from whence the word “repentance” comes is a military word which means about face and that is a clear definition of what repentance is: it is a willingness on our part to turn away from our former sinful life and turn to Christ to follow his new way. It is to be sorry for our past sins and to desire God’s forgiveness and to make a complete and permanent change in the way we live.

Experiences differ when we come to this commitment in life. Some will feel a sense of cleansing for a lifetime of sins while others may feel a peace that passeth all understanding, the like of which they never experienced before. Regardless of what we may feel or not feel, it is certain that when we repent that God does forgive us and receive us as his own. While feelings may be important, we need to remember that salvation is based on God’s promise and nothing more.

A personal relationship with the Lord happens when we repent of our sins (turn from our sins) and trust in Jesus and believe he died for our sins, paying the penalty for us, and was buried and rose from the grave. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not of ourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8). GRACE is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. This is how we become the children of God as we read in John’s gospel: “To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

FOUR IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:

* Do you desire a spiritual connection with God?

* Does what you have read make sense to you?

* Is there reason why you should not receive the gift of eternal life?

* Are you willing to turn from your sins and trust in Jesus right now?

The Bible says that,” Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

Read the prayer below and see if this is what you would like to say to God. Remember that it is not a prayer that saves but it is your faith and trust in him as savior that reconciles you to God. “That if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9). The prayer confirms what we have already accepted to be the truth and believe in our heart.

“Jesus, I repent of my sins and trust in you with all of my heart to come into my life and to be my savior and to forgive me of my sins. Thank you for dying on the cross in my place. I believe that you are the son of God and I want to commit my life to follow you forever”.

Did you sincerely pray this prayer? If so, WELCOME TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. You have just made the greatest decision of your life. According to God’s promises and the desire of your heart, you can be sure that God has saved you and that you will spend eternity with him in heaven.

Daily walking with God

The second requirement for a beautiful life is walking in God’s presence each day. When we were children, walking along side our father gave us security. We could relax knowing our father would take care of us regardless of what came along. The same is true with our Heavenly Father. Walking right along side of him as we go through life adds comfort, security and a sense of complete well being, all necessary for the beautiful life.

In Galatians 5:16 God invites his children to walk with him and promises the out flowing of his presence in their life. He lists the qualities of his presence in us and with us as we walk through life in verse 22, 23: Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, faith, teach ability, temperance. This is the fruit of God’s spirit within a believer.

What does the fruit of the Spirit mean? Here is the definition: The fruit of the Spirit is the outward expression of the inward presence of God’s beauty and his Glory.

Where God is there’s his glory, and I might add, His beauty also. We as New Testament believers have a great advantage over our Old Testament counterparts in that we have the permanent indwelling of the Glory of God via the Holy Spirit. Some of the Old Testament believers such as Moses did experience the indwelling of the Holy Spirit on a temporary basis but all in all most of the children of Israel only saw the Glory of God on the average of once a year on the Day of Atonement and from a distance.

Only beginning with the day of Pentecost, Acts chapter two, did God’s Glory actually come into believers to dwell on a permanent bases. Now you and I as believers have God’s ever present Glory within our spirit. Instead of God dwelling in a tabernacle or temple made by hands, he now dwells in this temple of ours, “What don’t you know that you are now the Temple of The Holy Spirit”. 1 Corinthians 3:16

Now to understand what it is that Paul is saying to us Galatians 5, we need to get verse 22 and 23 in context with the verses above them. Verse sixteen says, “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh”.

Paul then goes on in the verses that follow verse 16 to describe what it is on the opposite of walking with God which is to walk in the flesh, and he lists actually the fruit of walking in and being controlled by the flesh beginning with verse 19 and the fruit is: adultery, fornication, hatred and even murder to name a few. On a spectrum from black to white this of course is the dark side and Paul makes it clear that those whose lifestyle is on the dark side, “Shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven” verse 21.

Now in verse 17 Paul tells us that we are locked into a battle, “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh”. Keep in mind that we are a threefold being, body, soul and spirit; what Paul is talking about here is not a battle with the material body which is only a house for the soul and spirit but he is in fact is referring the soul which is the mind, will and emotions.

The mind is not who we are, we are the spirit and when we are walking in the Spirit which is God’s Spirit within our spirit, the mind, will and emotions are being brought under control, and that is why Paul said in verse 17 that when we walk in the Spirit, we shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh; why? Because now we have taken charge of our life through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit and we are able to resist the power of the flesh.

Since Paul is telling us to walk in the Spirit, it is obvious that we have the choice; will I walk in the power of the Spirit or will I be a slave to the flesh, my mind will and emotions? We can dam up the love of God that is within us and restrict the flow of the fruit of the Spirit or limit the inner beauty from being exposed outwardly, and live under the fleshly influence of the mind, will and emotions and never experience the love joy and peace of walking in the Spirit or allow the inner beauty of God’s presence to be seen outwardly.

You may wonder why that love is the first mentioned of the fruit of the Spirit. It is because the other characteristics that follow are actually the result of love. Love is recognized by joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness and so on. When others see those things in you, they are just getting a glimpse of God’s love, glory and his beauty that is within you. These others, joy, peace, patience etc. are the characteristics of love.

Paul uses these same characteristics along with others to describe God’s love in 1 Corinthians 13. I used to say, define love, but actually it is beyond our scope to define love; words are not adequate to describe the Agape love of God.

How then can we walk in the Spirit? First we must desire that kind of relationship with God and what it means is not only having God ever present in our spirit but actually walking right along side of him in our ever day walk through life. It comes by our complete surrender to his will.

As long as we want to hang on to whatever it is that the flesh is drawing us to, we can’t surrender completely to God. God wants our 100% devotion and then we can walk with him and talk with him on a regular day by day basis.

What indescribable benefits many are willing to pass up because of their desire to hang on to the world with one hand and to God with the other.

Then the fruit of the Spirit is the outward expression of God’s glory and beauty that resides within us and is the evidence that we are walking in the Spirit of Holy God.

We may be able to duplicate or counterfeit the fruit of the Spirit in a limited way, but it will never suffice for the pure and holy fruit of the Holy Spirit when we are truly walking in his power and presence.

Fulfilling God’s purpose for your life

The course of the least resistance in life is following our own will which is selfish and self centered desire to please the flesh. Fulfilling God’s purpose requires sacrificing our own purpose and seeking his.

His purpose always includes becoming our best. His purpose for us is personal development, referred to in the Bible as sanctification which in definition is setting apart. This is a setting apart from what we normally would become and instead becoming what God would have us become.

Remember that God’s purpose for us in life always includes serving others. Helping others spiritually to come to a full realization of God in their lives as well as helping others to acquire their spiritual as well as material needs in life.

A life of service to others magnifies the inner beauty of God’s presence in our lives. Everyone has a specific thing in life to fulfill God’s purpose. Billy Graham had what might seem to be a very great purpose but in fact God’s purpose for you is also great in his eyes.

God wants something great for you! He wants you to have a beautiful life.

I have great confidence in the progress you are going to make.

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