Rev. Dr. Jacob Cherian, Vice President & Dean of Faculty
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE BEAUTIFUL
The lead theme for the April 2012 edition
of the Readers Digest was Beauty by Design.
The cover image was of a young woman
who had most of her face covered with
bandages – after major cosmetic surgeries.
The accompanying article spoke of how the
worldwide cosmetic and beauty business
was in billions of dollars.
Now come to think of it, God is in the real
plan in Paul’s letter to his associate Titus.
In this letter Paul provides several instructions, including some specific ones for various groups of people in the church.
But he also speaks of some “ugly” people
in the house-churches. These are the false
teachers who cause confusion – and appear to be motivated by greed (1:10, 11).
Titus was commanded to rebuke and correct these leaders or replace them.
The church needed godly and beautiful leadership. Even slaves were asked
to live in such a way that they made
the gospel attractive to their masters
(2:9-10).
So, how does God make his people
beautiful? Let’s think of God’s design
(in terms of 4Gs) as seen in Titus
2:11-14.
beauty business. God is the author of all
beauty and is designing the most beautiful reality. This is what the prophet writes:
“I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully adorned for
her husband” (Rev 21:2). The beautiful New
Jerusalem is later identified with the bride
of the Lamb (21:9-10). And what a city that
is! And what a beautiful way to speak of us,
the people of God!
We can see a glimpse of God’s beautiful
14
GOD: It always begins with God. He
is the one who at all times takes the
initiative for the salvation of people.
Remember the parable of an amazing father in Luke 15? We could very
well call it “When God Ran”. Thus
the apostle encourages the church in
Philippi: “Continue to work out your
salvation with fear and trembling for
it is God who works in you to will
and to act in order to fulfill his good
purpose” (2:12-13)
GRACE: “The grace of God has appeared
that offers salvation to all people” (2:11).
The distinguishing mark of God’s character
has always been his grace. Yes, even in the
Old Testament! See Exodus 34:5-7.
David Noel Freedman was one of the greatest biblical scholars of our time, one who
had immersed himself in the study of Jewish writings. When asked to sum up the