Beauty and the Beast uncovered

A Message From Our Publisher 

Beauty and the Beast uncovered

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. Isaiah 53:2 (NASB)

Bobby R. Henry, Sr.

The childhood story of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ has taken on a new meaning to me as I rediscover from a much-improved spiritual connection the humiliating, degradation and suffering that Jesus endured as He went to the cross for me.

The oxymoron of the contrasting views of a societal representation of beauty juxtaposition to the beast.

How extraordinarily beautiful is the story of One who would give His only begotten Son to die for the sins of the world and yet the beast of burden that He had to bear was so obnoxious and uglier than anything imaginable.

From His birth when He was laid in an animal’s feeding trough until His death on an old rugged cross, His life was indicative of pain and suffering with flashes of hope as He was a servant “acquainted with grief” and when He was died He was laid in a borrowed tomb; not even His death bed was His own. From birth till death His pleasantries were short lived however, His blessings have been forevermore.

The real story of “Beauty and the Beast” is seen in the following scripture:

The Suffering Servant

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. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment, He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. Because of the anguish of His soul, He will see [q]it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many and interceded for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:1-12 (NASB)

And yet as He hung there on that old rugged cross, His appearance marred by the ugliness of fear, hate and greed. He endured because His Father said it must be done for us.

“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and You lay me in the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me; a band of evildoers has encompassed me; they pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” Psalms 22:14-18(NASB)

The ugliness in Christ’s death leads to the beauty of salvation. Please remember what Resurrection Sunday all about is.

“MUST JESUS BEAR THIS CROSS ALONE? AND ALL THE WORLD GO FREE?

 

 

 

 

About Carma Henry 24481 Articles
Carma Lynn Henry Westside Gazette Newspaper 545 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 Office: (954) 525-1489 Fax: (954) 525-1861

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*