You are NOT a bad person who needs to change into a good person. That might be what religion--and even to some extent the world--would have you believe. Self-help... laws to obey... rules to follow... hoops to jump through... This isn't what Jesus' abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life is all about. I'm telling you--Jesus did NOT come to make "bad" people "good." He came to make dead people alive. He came to wake us from sleep. And when we wake up--because the light is shining--we can see clearly. See who we really are. See who we are in Christ as we see who Christ is in us. I know why people get burned out on religion. Because it demands that you be someone you're not. And, listen, I can barely handle being who I am. I certainly can't be someone I'm not. And the problem with "acting like Jesus," is that that's all it'll ever be: an act. Only Jesus can live Jesus' life. That's what rest is all about--not me living His life, but Him living His own life in and through and as me. I'm telling you, if you think you're bad and you need to change to good... you'll struggle your whole life. You'll take a verse like Matthew 16:24, "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me," and you'll say, "See? I'm no good. So I have to deny myself. I have to try as hard as I can to be someone else." But what you're missing is that Jesus said this BEFORE the cross. Let me ask you this: Whose cross matters? Yours or Jesus'? Jesus' cross, right? And the understand that His cross IS our cross. The understanding that we were crucified with Him. The understanding that when He died, we died. And when He rose again, we rose again. Denying yourself isn't about trying to suppress that thing inside you that makes you... you. Denying yourself is about the truth contained in Colossians 3:2-3, "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." It's not, "Stop being who you are." It's about, "Understand who you REALLY are so you can BE who you really are!" Guys, good and evil are on the same tree. If you're trying to do one and avoid the other, all you're doing is swinging from one branch to another on the tree of death. But, again, Jesus came to pass us OUT of death and into LIFE. Which is the OTHER tree. The Tree of Life. The one that produces the fruit of the Spirit (which is love). The fruit that WE don't produce, but simply bear. He is the vine and we are the branches. He did the work, and we get to enjoy the fruit of HIS labor. On this side of the cross, the struggle is over. On this side of the cross we know who we really are. We don't have to deny ourselves. We can accept ourselves. We can stop trying (and failing) to be somebody else. We can rest in the arms of our loving heavenly Father. We can stop trying to do in order to be, and we can simply be. Then what we do flows from WHO we be. Then--from that posture of rest--things get easy. The struggle is over. Jesus fought the war to end all wars, and He won it. It is finished!

The key is not to judge things as beautiful or ugly... but to find the beauty in everything. And notice I said IN everything. Because that's where true beauty is; it's on the inside. A meek and quiet Spirit is beautiful. The inner man, the hidden man of the heart. Where else could beauty come from, but the heart? That's where we get messed up though. Because we look at the surface. We don't look IN things (or people) we look AT them. We judge by appearance instead of judging righteous judgment. That's why we've bought into the impossible standard of perfection as beauty. That's why we condemn ourselves, and because you can't give what you don't have and can only give what you do have, that's why we codemn each other. Instead of celebrating our differences, celebrating that thing that makes each and every one of us special and beautiful, we try to make ourselves and everyone else fit into a box. We try to make GOD--to make LOVE--fit in a box. And it just won't fit. In Job chapter 26 in the NIV the Bible describes all we know of His as the fringes of His works. We haven't even begun to enter in to the fulness. We HAVE the fulness, but we don't yet understand everything we have. That's why it's our EPIC destiny, our Eternal Purpose In Christ, to follow the instructions in Ephesians 3:16-19, "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passesth knowledge, that ye might be filled wtih all the fulness of God." FILLED with the fulness that we already have. KNOW and BELIEVE the love of Christ. EXPERIENCE it every day in every way. See the beauty in all of creation. The full measure of His love as it is poured into us and overflows out of us. That's what makes life beautiful. And, see, it's not about finding something you don't have. It's about exploring what you do have. It's not seeking the Kingdom in order to get it. It's seeing what the Kingdom is all about because you have it. Because you ARE it. The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy and it's found in the Holy Ghost. And the Holy Ghost is found in you. The Kingdom of God is within you. And when you understand just how full of it you are, then you can begin to experience it as it manifests all around you. When you understand just how beautiful you are, then it's easy to see the beauty in everything else. The light that is shining IN you, shines THROUGH you and shines OUT of you, and illuminates everything else. Guys, this life is beautiful. And so are you. Instead of trying to be something your not, just find out who you are and BE who you are! That's the whole point... of everything. That's why we're here. That's why we were created. To be loved and to love each other with that same love!

We see perfection, or beauty, as being flawless. Never making a mistake. Looking good on the outside. And that's our problem. That's where so much condemnation comes from. Self-condemnation, and condemning others. Because we are judging by appearance. We have this impossible standard that we are tying to live up to, and trying to get others to look up to. But look at what Jesus said about it, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness" (Matthew 23:27). It's not what's on the outside that makes you beautiful. It's what's on the inside. If you are full of dead men's bones (the old man, the Adam nature), then it doesn't matter what kind of behavior modification you try to do. At the end of the day, what's inside comes out. Or rather, what you BELIEVE is inside comes out. So what we really need is a new definition of beauty. Because, believe it or not, we are all beautiful. We are all fearfully and wonderfully made. We all have a purpose for being here. And each one of us has a specific purpose. Nobody can do what you can do exactly the way you can do it. And when you do that thing--whatever it is--man... that's as beautiful as it gets. Not trying to be somebody else, but just being yourself. Look at 1 Peter 3:4, because I think it gives a true definition of beauty: "But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." The hidden man of the heart. That's where our beauty comes from. Because that's where our love comes from. And it comes OUT of a meek and quiet spirit. THAT'S why the meek will inherit the earth. Because a meek and quiet spirit knows how to receive. You don't earn an inheritance. It is given to you, and must be received by you. So instead of trying to make ourselves beautiful--or perfect, or holy, or however you want to say it--instead of trying to earn something, instead of trying to DO in order to BE, we need to understand that we already be. Jesus put His beauty on us when He took up abode IN us. He presented us to Himself as a bride without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. He shined His light (on us, and in us, and through us) in order to show us how things really are. In order to show us that we ARE beautiful in His sight. And when we look Him in the face, we find grace in His eyes. We see the glory of the Lord and are changed into that same image from glory to glory. What's already inside of us begins to manifest. Not because we're trying really hard to be something we're not, but because we can finally see what we have always been! We were made in the image of God, but it wasn't until the cross that we were conformed into the image of His Son. Until we could SEE what that image was. And in seeing... we begin to be. We BE transformed (into what we've already been transformed into) by the renewing of our minds. By LETTING the mind of Christ that's already in us... be in us!

The problem with self-condemnation is that it disqualifies us. It goes hand in hand with the religious idea of earning something, or doing in order to be. In fact, speaking of the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, 2 Corinthians 3:9 in the Message Bible puts it like this, "If the Government of Condemnation was impressive, how about this Government of Affirmation?" See the difference there? The Law of Moses (which demanded perfection--or beauty?--without being able to produce it) was the government of condemnation. The only thing the Law could do was point out what was wrong with you. But there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ. For those who know that Christ is in them. Because you can't get any more perfect than having Jesus, the Perfect One, living in you. You can't get any more beautiful than letting His beauty (that's already on you) BE on you. And when you know who you are, then you know that you don't have to earn anything. You can stop working (Spiritually speaking) and start resting. You can stop TRYING to be someone you (think) you're not and you can just be who you are. You can stop trying to put lipstick on a pig, or clean up the old man--who is DEAD, by the way--and you can look in the mirror with an unveiled face and see things as they truly are. You can see things as they truly are... because the light is shining. We see how beautiful Jesus is, and in seeing that glorious image we are changed into the same image from glory to glory. What's inside us comes out. Naturally. Because we are not under the government of condemnation--the Law of Moses telling us what's wrong with us--but we are under the government of affirmation--our heavenly Father telling us what's RIGHT with us! That's literally the difference between death (condemnation) and life (affirmation). Life is beautiful. Those who are truly alive (not just living, or scraping by, or trying to do as much as they can to get as much as they can) see this beauty, and revel in it. We share this beauty. We receive it and release it. That's why those who ARE beautiful DO beautiful things. Those who ARE righteous DO righteousness. Because you can't give what you don't have and you can only give what you do have. And what's the most beautiful things you can do? Love someone. Affirm them. Don't put people down, pick people up. Help them. Bear their burdens with them. Don't condemn. Affirm. Papa Smurf said, "People rise to the level of love that they're shown." If we want people to "do better" we have to SHOW them something better. Give them a better option. A more excellent way. You can't bash someone into the shape you want them to be. That won't make them beautiful, it will make them break and crumble. But if you can see someone's beauty, and you can show it to them... I always say it like this: Don't tell people what to do. Tell them who they are. Because what we do flows from who we are. And who we are... is beautiful. That's the message of the gospel. That's what Jesus came to show us. And when we see it, we can be it. And we can show it to each other!

According to Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condmenation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." But while that may be TRUE, it doesn't seem to be somethng that we truly understand. Because it seems like most of the church is on a sin hunt. We aren't looking for the beauty in people, we are looking for the beast. And I think--in the same way that charity starts at home--it starts with ourselves. I'm convinced that the worst kind of condemnation is self-condemnation. Because if someone says something about you, but you don't believe it, it can't effect you. But if someone says something about you, and it's something you already think is true about you... then they're just confirming what you're already thinking. That's why some things can roll off of you like water off a duck's back, but some things can wreck you. Some things hit a nerve, because in your mind it's already a sore spot. The condemnation you feel for yourself gets fed by the condemnation of others. So what's the solution? Jesus, of course. Look at 2 Corinthians 4:6 in the Message Bible, "It started when God said, 'Light up the darkness!' and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful." Now let me work on this for a minute. I don't believe we are called to be overcomers. I believe Jesus already overcame (past tense) anything that would stand in our path. I believe that because it is finished, there is nothing left to overcome. Speaking of man (of us), Hebrews 2:8 says, "Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet... But now we see not yet all things put under him." See, all things ARE under our feet. There's nothing left to overcome. The problem is that we don't SEE everything under our feet. What you see is what you be. "But we see Jesus..." (Hebrews 2:9). The only reason we are still trying to overcome--still trying to clean up our acts and be "more like Jesus"--is because we don't see things the way they really are. In order to see things the way they really are, God had to turn on the light. So that we could see Jesus. See ourselves IN Jesus. See Jesus in ourselves. And when we see Jesus we don't see dirty sinners. We see the visible face of an invisible God. We see Him all bright and beautiful. Which means we see OURSELVES all bright and beautiful. Which means we don't have to do anything to BECOME beautiful, because we already ARE beautiful. And if we already ARE beautiful, then everything we DO is beautiful--because what you do flows from who you are--and then we understand that there is nothing to condemn! Being "in Christ" is not about doing "bad stuff" and not getting condemned for it. Grace is not about sweeping sin under the rug. Before the cross sin abounded. Then at the cross grace super abounded. Grace obliterated sin. Jesus took away the sin of the world. We saw ourselves as dirty and rotten, so Jesus shined the light and showed us how we REALLY look. He presented us to Himself as a bride without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. Without anything to condemn. Beautiful.

You guys know sometimes I get stuck on something, right? Well, if the last Rant series didn't convince you that since beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and since God has grace in His eyes, you are beautiful in His sight... then hopefully this Rant series will really bring it home. But I want to start with 1 Peter 3:3-4, "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." They say beauty is only skin deep. But true beauty comes from within. We're talking about the REAL you. The hidden man of the heart. We're not judging by appearance, by what people look like (or what it looks like they're doing), but we're judging righteous judgment. We're EXECUTING the judgment that was handed down from Father to Son on the cross. We're not looking AT people, we're looking INTO people. The deep calls out to the deep, and the only way we'll every really be able to connect with each other is when we understand that our connection is the Jesus in me connecting to the Jesus in you. The LOVE in me connecting to the LOVE in you. And what's more beautiful than love? Nothing. Nothing at all. The problem is that we are so consumed with physical beauty that we bury true beauty under an avalanche of... stuff. We let anything and everything that our (natural) eyes see distract us from what's really there. I'm telling you: Each and every one of us is beautiful. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are special. YOU are special. You're here to do something that only you can do. Let me say it this way: We are all here to be loved and to love each other. But there's a special way that you can love... that only you can do. There's something beautiful inside of you and it's just bursting at the seams trying to get out. Remember our verse from the last series, "And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it" (Psalm 90:17). The beauty of the Lord IS upon us. We just have to let it be. We just have to see it and believe it. Receive it and release it. And isn't it interesting that our verse goes from talking about beauty to talking about the work of our hands? In a sense, beauty isn't just who we are, but what we do. Because what we do FLOWS from who you are. 1 John 3:7 says it like this, "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous." Doing righteousness doesn't MAKE us righteous, but instead we do righteousness because we ARE righteous! We don't MAKE ourselves beautiful because of what we do. HE made us beautiful (by putting His beauty upon us, or giving it to us, or living it in us and through us and as us) and because we ARE beautiful, the things we do are beautiful!

Here's what humanity seems to think: I'm a dirty sinner and there's no way God (or anyone else for that matter) could possibly love me until and unless I clean up my act. It's the plot of all of those movies where the geeky girl takes her glasses off and then she's a knockout, right? We think we're ugly until we do something about it. What we don't seem to understand is that Jesus already did something about it. Unfortunately, even if we can grasp this idea--that it's what He did on the cross, not what we do with our own strength--we still seem to miss the point. We seem to think the cross made us something God could love. Like He couldn't look at us until He changed us. But He was looking at Noah BEFORE the cross. And Noah was looking back. That's why (and how) Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Look at Psalm 90:17, "And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it." Remember that tiny word with such big implications? LET. Let the beauty of the Lord be upon us. Guys... we were made in His image. As He is, so are we in this world. And that's the way it's always been. We just didn't know what His image (OUR image) was, because it was dark and we couldn't see it. Beauty is in the eyes right? What you see is what you be. When Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil mankind's Spiritual eyes closed and natural eyes opened. We moved into the dimension of duality. Appearance. Right and wrong. Good and evil. And on that day we surely died. But then, at the appointed time, Jesus came to give us life, and that more abundantly. He came to shine the light and open our eyes so that we could see clearly. Because what you see is what you be. He came to show us what the Father looks like, and He showed us the Father by showing us ourselves. By getting the veil, or the stone of the Law, or the sin consciousness, or ANYTHING that could cause seperation between Creator and creation, out of the way. By equipping and empowering us to look in the mirror with an unveiled face and see the glory of the Lord. And in seeing that glory in the mirror (in ourselves) we are changed into that same image from glory to glory. The truth about us--even though it was buried under all of the surface stuff--manifests from the inside-out. The beauty of the Lord is, and always has been, upon us. And now we can LET it be upon us. Now we can SEE it. The cross did NOT change us into something God could love. He always has and always will love us. What the cross "changed" us into was something that could RECEIVE God's love. Being filled with the Holy Spirit--our love receptor--is what allows us to know and believe God's love for us. And in knowing and believing it, we can receive it and release it. We can BE who we really are only when we KNOW who we really are. When we see it. When we see how beautiful HE is in us, then we see how beautiful WE are in Him! And that's when we can stop trying to be someone we're not--stop trying to "clean up our acts"--and we can simply rest in the truth about who we really are!

William Shakepeare said, "The Eyes are the window to your soul." Something exterior that lets you know what's inside. That right there is the importance of where Noah found grace. He found it in the eyes of the Lord. He found it IN God. IN love. When we judge things (and people, ourselves included) by appearance, by what they look like, then we miss what's hidden. What's deep inside. We miss what's true because we judge according to the facts. But truth is higher than facts. Screwing up doesn't make you a screw up. It makes you a human being. I use this example a lot but it holds true: Parents don't punish their children for falling when they are learning to walk. GOOD parents help their children up, dust them off, and encourage them to try again. Because they SEE something. They see the potential. They understand that life is a journey. And not everybody is at the same place at the same time. That's why the five-fold ministy was given, "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministy, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:12-13). Remember what happens when we look in the mirror with an unveiled face and see the glory of the Lord? We are changed into that same image from glory to glory. But here's the key: We START with glory. Our perfection doesn't come from working really hard to be perfect. It comes from the Perfect One living inside us. And the more we KNOW the more we GROW. As the five-fold ministry EDIFIES us (instead of condemning us) we come into the unity of faith, and the knowledge of Jesus. The knowledge of who we really are... on the inside. When you know how big that love inside of you really is, it begins to come out naturally. Because it's too big to keep in. We are filled to overflowing with that love. Light doesn't shine because you try really hard to make it shine. Light shines because that's it's nature. The way we "let" our light shine is simply knowing and believing that it is already shining in us! And when we know it and believe it, then what's in us comes out of us. All by itself--or Himself. That's when we stop trying to live Jesus' life (which is impossible for anybody but Jesus) and we just let Him live His own life in us and through us and as us. That's when we start to see things how they really are. That's when we stop looking at people's actions (and judging by appearance) and start looking people in the eye. Have you ever gotten lost looking into someone's eyes? Because that's where TRUE beauty is. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and the eyes are the window to the soul. So when we look with doves' eyes--see with the Holy Spirit--and we look INTO each others' eyes, that's when we see what's really there. On the inside. The inner man. The hidden man of the heart. The Jesus in me connecting to the Jesus in you. Spirit to Spirit. Holy to holy. When we know what's inside, that's when it comes out. Naturally.

One of the biggest, most important things that Jesus came to the earth to do was open our eyes. Shine the light of the world and show us how things really are. Show us the Father. Reveal Himself to us--and then, through the cross, reveal Himself in us, and through us, and as us! Back in the garden of Eden the sepent told Eve that if she ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil her eyes would be opened. But here's the thing to remember: the sepent was a liar. What really happened was Eve's NATURAL eyes were opened, but mankind's Spiritual eyes were closed. Isn't it interesting that one of the miracles Jesus performed the most was giving blind people sight? Look at Matthew 9:28-30, "And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened..." In the Message Bible verse 29 reads like this, "He touched their eyes and said, 'Become what you believe.'" That's what happens. We become what we believe. Remember the progression from doves' eyes to BEING a dove. First we see with the Spirit then we BECOME the Spirit. We know and believe that we are loved... and we become love! But here's the key: Seeing is believing. Faith is not about trying to make something happen. Faith, in a word, is trust. And you can only trust something that HAS happened. You can trust in the finished work because it is finished. It's not a blessed hope, it's a blessed reality. It's not something you want God to do, it's something He has already done. Remember the Roman centurian? When he SAW the death of the Lamb he knew Jesus was the Son of God. It's in the eyes. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Jesus came to open our eyes. When we judge according to appearance--or good and evil--then we don't see what's really there. If we judge according to the surface, or according to circumstances, then we miss the deep. We miss the inner man. The hidden man of the heart. But when we stop looking AT things and start looking INTO things--when we look INTO the mirror with an unveiled face--then we see what's really there. Then we can stop judging each other (and ourselves) and start LOVING each other (and ourselves). Become what you believe. Seeing is believing. With open eyes, and open ears, and open minds, and open hearts... that's when we begin to experience the Kingdom of God all around us. The Kingdom of God that is WITHIN us, and bursting at the seams to get OUT of us! You can't experience the height and depth and length and breadth of God's love if your eyes are closed. You can't be who you really are unless you can SEE who you really are. Unless you can SEE Jesus in you. And when you see Him in you, that's when you can see Him in others. The connection of love is the Jesus in me connecting to the Jesus in you. But that kind of beauty isn't in the surface. It's in the eyes.

"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD" (Genesis 6:8). This is one of my favorite Bible verses. And yes, I know, I say that about almost all of them. But there's such an amazing truth here. Because while it is true that when the Lord looked at Noah, He saw someone worthy of His grace... this verse also shows us where grace is found. It's found in the eyes of the Lord. And the only way for Noah to find that grace (in His eyes) was for Him to be looking God right in the face. It's so funny to me that all throughout the Old Testament there was this fear that looking God in the face would lead to death. But everytime it happened, God was like, "No, it's ok." For example, Judges 6:22-23, "And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face. And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die." We had this inaccurate picture of God. A picture that Jesus came to fix. Jesus told Philip, "...he that hath seen me hath seen the Father..." (John 14:9). Which makes perfect sense when you link it to John 1:17, "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." See, the way we look God in the face--and find that grace in His eyes--is by looking Jesus in the face. And the way we look Jesus in the face... is by looking in the mirror. Because He lives in us. He is our true identity. And when we do this without the Law, without that inaccurate picture of God, well, the Amplified Bible puts it like this, "And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18). When we look in the mirror--or the Word, or Jesus (who IS the Word)--what we see is the glory of God. We find it in HIS eyes, and we realize that it is in OUR eyes. And what we see is what we be. When we look with doves' eyes, we realize that we are doves. When we see the Jesus in ourselves, then we can see it in each other. Spirit to Spirit. Holy to holy. The Jesus in me connecting to the Jesus in you. And then that connection that we are always trying so hard to find... just comes naturally. Because love IS that connection. But if I'm trying to get it, then I miss out on the truth that I already have it. That I already AM it. We have to see ourselves the way God sees us, so that we can see each other that same way. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Noah found grace in the eys of the Lord. Grace is what reveals our beauty. We're all unique. We're all different. And we're all beautiful. The key is not to try to MAKE someone beatiful... but to SEE the beauty that is already there. Not to squash differences, but to celebrate them. Not to conform to the world but to BE transformed by the renewing of our minds! To see the beauty, and BE the beauty!