As we yield inwardly to Christ, His life and character will be reflected outwardly.

‘Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.’ (Proverbs 31:30)

It’s been found that marriages based on physical attraction alone, or even as the primary ingredient, last between 6 months and 2 1/2 years. If you’re not sure of this statistic, just look at Hollywood. Hollywood is full of beautiful people and short marriages. Hollywood marriages that last are themselves news items!

We may be physically attractive to our partner, but it’s a changing ingredient. As the hymn writer wrote in Abide With Me, ‘Change and decay in all around I see!’ That’s true of all of our physical bodies. What matters is the person who lives within the body. When we marry for better or for worse, there’s going to be as much, if not more, of the worse than the better. Physical attraction is icing on the cake, but the cake is the real person within. That is not static either. We grow in inner beauty and godliness or we decline. The writer of Proverbs tells us that beauty is fleeting, but what lives and grows is the fear of the Lord, and the enjoyment of His presence in our lives. On the question of marriage, a good marriage is as good as the individuals who make it up. Personal growth in Christ and in godliness is the best contribution any of us can make to our marriage, our family, and our relationships.

Do we look beyond outward appearances to the inner beauty of people?

Bible in one year: Zechariah 13-14 | Revelation 21