Beauty on the Inside

By Rev. David Petersen

Abraham's wife, Sarah, was very beautiful, and because of this Abraham was afraid that someone would kill him to take her. The ancient world was a violent place. Abraham hatched a plan. In order to avoid risking his life, he told King Abimelech that Sarah was his sister. He abandoned her, presented her to the king as a single woman so that he could have her without Abraham dying, and have no reason to be jealous of Abraham. Abimelech believed the lie. He found her desirable. On the basis of the lie he was planning on taking her for his wife. But God intervened and by His grace spared all three of them.

Now here is something you may not have realized: Sarah was at least 75 years old at the time. The king could have had any woman he wanted, but he wanted Sarah. A wrinkly, gray-haired, hunchbacked old woman with sagging breasts and few teeth. Now, I don't really know what she looked like at 75. I know that she was older than 75 when she finally conceived and gave birth to Isaac. I suspect that at 75 she was actually quite fit and healthy. She probably was not hunchbacked or missing any teeth. I just said that to drive home the point that she was most certainly past what we consider desirable. For no matter how good she looked for her age, her age was still 75.

Yet Abimelech and others found her desirable. It wasn't her figure. It wasn't her hair or her face. What attracted them was her strength and loyalty. She was the kind of person you wanted to be around. She was reliable, a hard worker, a good listener, and supportive.

Think for a minute about your grandmother, who may not yet even be 75. What is she like? She probably isn't as svelte as she was at 25. She probably doesn't star in movies or model underwear for Calvin Klein. But is she the kind of person you could live with? Is she someone you can trust? Does she do little things for you like making blueberry pancakes, taking you out for ice cream or sewing a button back onto your shirt? My grandmother does those things. They are worth far more to me than a button or a blueberry. I know why, but I lack the words to express why. But I don't think I need to. I think you know what I mean.

Now think back to Sarah and the beauty that Abimelech saw in her. That kind beauty doesn't fade with age or weight. It increases. Abimelech was wise to desire her. He saw through the wrinkles to a personality and character that were truly breathtaking. When you are sizing up your classmates for a date to the prom, I suggest you think about wrinkly old Sarah. Take a friend. Take someone you trust and enjoy being around. Look for beauty in the soul and you will never be disappointed. You may, in fact, find a gem.

Maybe you are not in Abimelech's sandals. Maybe you are in Sarah's, for doesn't St. Peter say that you are Sarah's daughter? Maybe you are a gem, but shallow-thinking people don't notice. You are everyone's friend, but no one's date. There is consolation here for you, too. Beauty that is skin deep won't last. But beauty in your soul will. And there is someone who always notices. God. To Him you are precious, adorable, and special. He loved you enough to send His beloved onlybegotten son to rescue you from loneliness, despair, death and Hell, all at the cost of His own life.

For Him who made and owns everything, you were worth more, worth the price of His son. You may not have a date to the prom, and I am sorry about that. I wish I could make them see how gorgeous and wonderful you really are. But proms fade. There are no proms in the “real world”. What you have is infinitely better.You have a bridegroom, a lover who dotes on you, cares for you, never lies, uses, or abuses you, who loves you just the way you are, that is, just the way He has made you: righteous, holy, immaculate, and pure. They can't take that away.

The Rev. David Petersen is pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana.