So. Maybe you've perused the pages, scrolled through some of the blog posts, explored a few of the links...and you still don't get it. When you read the name "The Beautiful Side," you envisioned a happy-go-lucky lifestyle featuring trips to Paris, twilight walks through flower-filled meadows, or sparkling starlit nights. Or you might have taken a more down-to-earth view of it all: a nicely decorated house, for instance, or a happy family in which everybody gets along with everybody. But that doesn't seem to be what I'm focused on talking about. Where am I coming from?
Granted, all of the above things are beautiful (especially walks at twilight). But maybe you're pondering all this further, and something tells you that the nature walks and a happy family are not enough.
They aren't.
The ultimate beautiful side isn't made up of the things we can see, hear, or touch - like an enchanting song, a breathtaking sunset, a hug from a friend. Instead, the beauty we find all around us is only a reflection of an even greater beauty: Heaven. God made us to live there with Him forever. The beauty of Heaven is such an innate part of us that the Bible tells us, "[God] has planted eternity in the human heart" (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
Unfortunately, we human beings have a problem: we've sinned. We all do things that are wrong and that displease God. Romans 3:23 makes no bones about it: "Everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard" (emphasis mine). God's "glorious standard" is absolute holiness (Leviticus 11:45) - nothing less. Because we all sin, we fall short of that standard - a failing which leads to death, according to the first part of Romans 6:23: "the wages of sin is death." God's punishment for sin is death.
Death. Absolute, total separation from God forever. Decidedly un-beautiful.
But wait! It isn't hopeless. The second part of Romans 6:23 says that "the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." What gift? John 3:16 explains: "For God loved the world so much that He gave His one
and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but
have eternal life."
God, in His incredible love, sent Jesus Christ, His Son, to take the punishment that we deserved. Jesus, who had never sinned, willingly died an agonizing death on a cross so that we wouldn't have to suffer. He paid the price for our sins. Isaiah 53:3 details the price that He paid: "He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed." Jesus gave His life - holy and blameless - so that we could know true life.
The best part of all? He didn't stay dead. Three days after He gave His life for the whole world, Jesus walked out of the tomb, demonstrating His power over death and the grave (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
The sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross is God's gift to you. Through it He offers forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life. The choice - take it or leave it - is yours. Romans 10:9 says "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." If you cry out to Him, He'll hear you.
You'll find the truly beautiful side.
(For more information, check out Peace With God.net.)
