Dangerous Beauty

I have a nifty gadget that helps me leave quickly for work on cold winter mornings. The Frost Shield* has elastic loops that fit over the side mirrors and a polyvinyl sheet that protects the windshield. Instead of scraping frost or waiting for the heater to warm up, I simply unhook it, shake it off before I toss it in back, and go.

Last night I forgot to put it on, and so this morning was a bit more wait and a bit less go. Heater and defrost on full blast, I decided to pull out the scraper. Always a last resort. I won't blame it on my disability; even fully-abled I hated scraping my windshield, and so I do the bare minimum. I had a clear patch in front of me, and one on the passenger side, but the windshield was far from frost-free.

As I drove into the bright sunshine, I thought, "How pretty, this glistening frost."

But, oh, how dangerous.

* * *

Sin is like that. We have this image in our subconscious that sin is ugly, dark, sinister. Like the Joker or Lord Voldemort. In reality, sin is more like Dorian Gray.

Have you read that one? The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde details a man's deal with the Devil. He is a beautiful man, this Dorian Gray, and believes that only hedonism will make him happy, the pursuit of pleasure for pleasure's sake. His beauty goes hand in hand with sensual pleasure, so he deals with the Devil: the portrait will fade and grow old, but the man himself never will. The man retains his beauty and pursues every sinful pleasure; the painting records every sin as the face on it disintegrates.

Sin is not ugly. Sin is beautiful. That's what makes it so sinister.

We see only the alluring beauty of it. All the while it is destroying us inside. Our self-respect, our relationships with other people, our relationship with God. If sin looked like what it is, we wouldn't seek it out.

It's beautiful but dangerous.

There is a Frost Guard for our souls, of a sort. By immersing ourselves in the word of God and devoting ourselves to prayer, we will see and experience the beauty of God's presence. In the light of God, everything else looks dim.

Ironic, isn't it? Sin is beautiful. Christ is not. Isaiah 53:1-6: Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

That's ugly.

That's the beauty of Christ.

For Him, it was dangerous. It cost Him His life. For us it is healing and hope. Beautiful hope.

Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us "since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith." Look on this beauty, this beautiful face, and know you are loved. Sin will command you no more. That Frost Shield allows you to shake it off and go.

*Not a sponsored post