Psychiatrist Dr. Curt Thompson recently addressed a group of about 75 parents at a Christian independent school in North Carolina. During his talk, he celebrated the school’s mission to foster beauty and goodness. Dr. Thompson then reminded his rapt audience that God wants their children to become icons of beauty, not to make straight As.
Icons of beauty? One could argue that it is only possible to propose such a high ideal from a place of privilege. But let’s think about this for a moment. We know how easy it is to use filters to enhance our online images and elective surgeries to perfect our physical bodies. So what is beauty anyway? How do we as leaders pursue what God calls beautiful?
On Good Friday, we saw humanity’s ugliness. Jesus died a horrific and humiliating death on a cross. Soldiers cast lots for his clothes. They mocked him and spit on him. The religious elite taunted him for claiming to be the Son of God. Three days later, Jesus stood outside an empty tomb while Mary Magdalene looked upon the most startling sight she had ever seen: Jesus was not dead after all. She was captivated by God’s beauty.
One gift the church can offer the world is true beauty. What might it look like if we take seriously the call to reflect God’s beauty in the world? What might we do differently to be a church that is passionate about the beauty of God’s generosity? How might an icon of beauty show up for their neighbors, friends and people who know what it feels like to be excluded? Maybe Dr. Thompson is on to something.
