True Beauty in Christ: Learning to See Yourself Through God’s Eyes
Not Knowing Your True Beauty
When was the last time someone complimented you, and instead of simply saying, “thank you,” you listed all the reasons their words weren’t true?
That happened to me recently. My friend told me my hair looked good. At that point, I managed to thank her and overcome the urge to tell her why it didn’t look good. A couple of hours later, another friend told me she really liked my hair—and this time I told her all the reasons I didn’t. Do you ever do that?
We don’t take compliments well, do we? Someone says something kind, and we dismiss it, explain it away, or reject it outright. And if we’re honest, we often do the same thing with God. Through His Word, God tells us who we are—chosen, loved, redeemed, beautiful. But instead of agreeing with Him, we argue. “Not me, Lord. You must be talking about someone else. I know my flaws. I know the mess I really am.” The truth is, we are often our own worst critic. We rarely see ourselves the way others do, and we almost never see ourselves the way God does.
But here’s the problem: if we don’t know our true beauty, we won’t live out of who we really are. And when we don’t live out of our true beauty, we miss out on the abundant life Jesus died and rose again to give us.
A Lifelong Pursuit of Beauty
Beauty has always mattered to me. As far back as I can remember, I viewed life through a beauty lens.
My sister was a hairstylist, so I practically grew up in a beauty shop. By the time I was five, I was rolling my hair every night with pink sponge rollers. In third grade, I proudly received my first set of “Miss Clairol” electric rollers and used them faithfully every morning before school. After much persistence, my mom finally let me experiment with her makeup at home, and I spent countless hours in front of the mirror trying out new hairstyles and looks. By the time I reached middle school—and all through high school—I had added exercise to my daily routine, determined to perfect not just my hair and makeup, but my body too.
But what I’ve come to realize is that my attraction to beauty has always been about something deeper. Even in ministry, my passion has been helping women discover the transforming beauty of God’s Word. Because when His Word gets inside of us, it changes us from the inside out.
That’s why I wrote My Maker and Me: A Six-Week Bible Study of Becoming God’s Beautiful Vessel, my latest book released in July 2025. In Christ, we were created and intended to be God’s beautiful vessels. He is shaping us day by day into His image so that we can reflect His glory to the world.
The Spiritual Reality of Beauty
The moment you said “yes” to Jesus, something powerful happened:
Justification – a completed work. You were declared righteous and beautiful in Him.
Sanctification – a work that began the moment you believed, is ongoing, and will one day be completed when you stand before Jesus.
The problem is, most of us don’t understand the authority and finality of that transaction. We keep living like the old self—the one who died and was buried with Christ—when Jesus is calling us forth into newness of life (Romans 6:4).
In Christ, your spiritual reality is this: you have already been made beautiful.
Beauty in the Bible
The Bible talks about beauty in both physical and spiritual terms. Isaiah 53:2 says of Jesus:“He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.” This doesn’t mean Jesus was unattractive in life—it points to the horrific reality of the cross, where His body was disfigured by suffering. He bore our sin, shame, and ugliness so that we could receive His beauty. As 2 Corinthians 5:21 says:
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
Jesus died to beautify us—to clothe us in righteousness, to adorn us as His bride, to make us radiant with His glory.
Psalm 149:4 says, “For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.” In Christ, that beautification has already taken place—it’s past tense, fully accomplished through His saving work. Yet, His work in us is ongoing. Ephesians 5:26–27 tells us that Christ is even now sanctifying and cleansing His church “with the washing of water by the word.” In other words, His Word is actively beautifying us day by day. And the best is still to come. This same passage promises that Christ will one day present us to Himself as a glorious bride—without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish. Does that not sound amazing?
This is the beauty we were created for—not the kind that fades with time, but the eternal radiance of holiness.
Our Struggle to Believe
Why is it so hard to receive this truth? We know the white lie we told yesterday. We remember the sharp word we spoke to our spouse. We see the junk we watch or listen to. We feel the weight of our failures, and we say, “There’s nothing holy or beautiful about me.” But here’s the good news. Your failures don’t cancel your true beauty in Christ.
Your beauty is anchored in the finished work of Jesus. His righteousness is powerful enough to declare you holy and beautiful, no matter what you struggle with today. The more we believe that truth, the more it begins to transform our lives. Justification is His work alone, but sanctification is where He invites us to join Him—through prayer, Scripture, obedience, and daily surrender.
Living as His Beautiful Vessel
Ephesians 1 is one of my favorite places to see who I really am in Christ. Verses 3–14 describe believers as blessed, chosen, redeemed, forgiven, sealed, and so much more. When you fill in the blanks—I am chosen. I am forgiven. I am redeemed. I am sealed.—you start to see your beauty through God’s eyes.
The truth is, our culture will always push a false version of beauty: youth, perfection, outward appearance. But Scripture tells us something far better:
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. (Proverbs 31:30)
Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:17)
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news. (Isaiah 52:7)
In Christ, you are already beautiful. And the more you root yourself in His Word, the more that beauty shines.
Do You Know How Beautiful You Are?
Sister, the question isn’t whether you are beautiful—you are. The real question is, do you know it? Do you live like it? When you embrace your true identity in Christ, everything changes. You stop striving for approval. You stop chasing after the world’s shallow standards. And you begin to radiate the kind of beauty that never fades—the beauty of holiness.
Here’s a little challenge for you this week:
Go to God’s Word and pray, “Lord, show me my true beauty in Christ.”
Read Ephesians 1:3–14. Write down every “in Christ” identity you see, and turn them into personal declarations: I am ____________.
Begin to live out of the beauty He has already given you.
And the next time someone gives you a compliment? Instead of dismissing it, smile, say thank you, and remember—you are a living testimony of God’s transforming beauty.
Reflection Questions
Why do you think it’s so hard to accept compliments—from people and even from God?
What keeps you from believing that you are who God says you are?
How might your life look different if you fully embraced your God-given beauty?
✨ My Maker and Me: A Six-Week Bible Study of Becoming God’s Beautiful Vessel was written to help women discover their true beauty in Christ and live as vessels shaped by His Word. I would love for you to join me on this journey of transformation!
