Choosing to See Holiday Beauty

As far back as I can remember, I looked forward to and savored each Christmas season. I mainly anticipated receiving presents as a child. And then it became associated with a break from schoolwork. For my adult years, I attribute much of the expectancy to watching my children and now my grandchildren gear up in the excitement. But also, as an adult I have explored what else it is that stirs my heart so deeply during this season. The presents are nice, but most of the time I struggle to think of any material gift I truly desire. The exhilaration of being out of school has dissipated as classwork is now far behind me. The anticipation, however, is still there. What makes it so enchanting?

Along with wondering what instills the Christmas season with such attraction, there is the more general question of what draws me to anything. What is stirred in my heart when I find myself choosing to give attention and time to just sitting and absorbing an intangible holiday “spirit” in the air? It has been a mystery. Yet this quality of attraction is becoming more and more clear.

I am attracted to the BEAUTY of it all!

That which I perceive to be beautiful will always get my attention. I cannot help but want to gaze upon or be close to that which stirs my heart. So, it is beauty that lures me to lights, manger scenes, decorated trees, and gift giving.

But why?

What makes something beautiful?

I am learning that ponderings about beauty involve philosophical questions. How people answer them depends on their view of reality. It is a common idea that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” In other words, many operate from the understanding that there is no objective standard for beauty. It is a squishy, elastic concept that we each personalize to make our own. It is a word we each get to define however we want. I can call anything “beautiful” if I so perceive it that way. Such a view usually means that a person sees most everything through the lens of one’s self as the final judge. I am the one who creates my own reality, even the reality of what is beautiful.

Really?

This perception of beauty, as merely my own tastes and personal judgment, has become less satisfying as I have gotten older. My heart longs for a measuring stick, a standard more stable than my changeable feelings. I am growing to see beauty as something that is fixed in a reality outside my perceptions, something rooted in universal truth. It is from the unchanging form or ideal of beauty that all humanity is meant to base their judgments of what is lovely and worthy of praise.

Am I mixing things up?

Beauty then is a type of homing beacon that draws me toward what is true. Of course, I can get confused and call things beautiful that are based more on lusts, selfish desires, fleshly indulgences, and rebellious self-actualization. And sometimes it is difficult to distinguish my attempts to remake reality into what makes me feel better from that which is truly and unshakably real. But the distinction is important. The scriptures are clear. There are certain qualities that just are what they are, universally true and real. I must be careful not to try to reshape them into something less or even the opposite of what they actually are.

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20 ESV).

The difference between what is eternally beautiful and what is not, typically is discerned when I quiet my soul to listen for that which does not demand attention or cry out for immediate satisfaction. True beauty seems to be a bit shy and aloof, not needing my affirmation or approval for existence. For that which is truly beautiful does not need my affirmation or approval to exist.

It just is.

• The innocence of a child’s smile.
• The grandeur of a sunset.
• Twinkling colored lights on a dark night.
• An act of sacrificial love.
• A carefully wrapped package for a loved one.
• The face of a person who has chosen integrity over deceptiveness, generosity over stinginess, encouragement over criticism, loyalty over betrayal, trust over skepticism, serving over the demand to be served.

It takes a clear mind and humble attitude to recognize unsullied beauty and acknowledge it as such. I too often miss it because it does not scream at me and my heart is desiring something easier to take hold of. I more naturally focus on that which provides temporary satisfaction, relief, or pleasure over alignment with eternal truth.

It is all so good!

I now believe beauty and goodness are closely aligned. It is difficult to separate them. When the eyes of my heart see something that I sense is beautiful, I am usually acknowledging that thing, that act, that creature, or that person to be very close to what they ought to be. They are doing what they were meant to do. That is what makes anything good. And when this is the case, it is beautiful. Universal truth and unchanging reality are what gives anything undeniable beauty. That is what I find myself attracted to.

As a child, I was often confused by people referring to the “beauty of the cross.” It was not until I was an adult that I finally saw it. The only thing that can make a rough instrument of a bloody and torturous death into something truly beautiful is the motivation behind the sacrificial surrender. The beauty springs from the eternal and universal truth of God’s love for the world. The cross became our means of eternal salvation and connection with our Maker. I find this beautiful and have put my faith in this truth.

Celebrating the beauty of the Season

So, what about the Christmas season attracts me so? There is, of course, the meaning behind the Incarnation. An eternal, pure and holy deity chose to become fully human as a baby, grow up, and fully identify with us and save us. I am attracted to this narrative. But even the cultural trappings of carols, lights, decorations, gifts, family meals, along with giving to and serving the poor all point to something that is good and ultimately eternal. There is beauty pointing to truth in all these holiday trappings and events.

This Christmas, I choose to look for and pursue that which is eternally beautiful in the season. And when I find true beauty, I believe I will find truth. And there, of course, will be God and His Holy Son. I just have to still my heart and humble my pride enough to see what is really there.

Merry Christmas!

Response:

• What attracts me to the Christmas season? What is behind that attraction?
• What are examples of things I consider beautiful? What gives them their beauty?
• How much of what I consider beautiful do I believe is true for everyone?
• Where do I easily confuse beauty with my own selfish desires or lusts to possess something for myself?
• Jesus, show me the true beauty of this season — your Incarnation and sacrificial love.