The Ballestero Blog

Is God Ugly?

I don’t mean for this question to sound like it borders on blasphemy. It is important for me not to be flippant or sacrilegious about things that are Divine. With that being said, I will ask the question one more time. Is God ugly?

The Prophet Isaiah makes an amazing prophecy about the coming of the Messiah. He describes him and portrays him in a very uncomplimentary manner.

Is. 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

Is. 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

When man makes a grand entry, he normally tries to ‘put his best foot forward’. Why then did Jehovah choose to wrap Himself up in human flesh that apparently wasn’t the best He could make?

The mind of man would think, ‘Why He could have gotten more followers if He’s had some ‘great’ looks. People will follow someone that’s easy to look at. That was not how God planned to present Himself.

When God came to earth in the flesh, there was nothing beautiful about Him. I want to talk about that very thing. Look first at the Old Testament.

1. Noah’s Ark – The wood was covered with pitch. It looked ugly on the outside. No one in Noah’s generation outside of his own family was able to get past the ‘Ugly’. They all perished.

2. The Tabernacle In The Wilderness – The outside of the Tabernacle was covered with dyed badger skins. To those that had been there, they KNEW the real beauty was on the INSIDE. It was on the INSIDE that the golden vessels were displayed. It was on the INSIDE that the beautiful Veil hung concealing the Holiest of Holies. INSIDE there was the Shekinah, the Glory of the Lord.

Once the Israelites got past the Ugly, they found the real beauty.

1Pet. 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

1Pet. 2:7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,

1Pet. 2:8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

To those that take the time to Know Him and Believe, He is Precious.

• If Living for God is Ugly to you, you just don’t know Him very well.
• If Worship is Ugly to you, you just don’t know Him very well.
• If Giving God the Tenth of your income is Ugly to you, you just don’t know Him very well.
• If Holiness is Ugly to you, you just don’t know Him very well.
• If the preaching of Doctrine is Ugly to you, you just don’t know Him very well.
• If Long Hair on Women and Short Hair on Men are Ugly to you, you just don’t know Him very well.
• If Standards are Ugly to you, you just don’t know Him very well.
• If Separating yourself from the World is Ugly to you, you just don’t know Him very well.
• If the Prayer Room is Ugly to you, you just don’t know Him very well.
• If Winning Souls is Ugly to you, you just don’t know Him very well.

And the list goes on…

When living for God is longer attractive to you, you don’t really know Him very well. It tells me that you don’t really Believe. It tells me you are Disobedient. (1 Pet 2:7)

Can you get past the Ugly? If you can, He will become Precious to you!