Beholding the Beauty of the Cross by Shana Burchard
Have you ever felt small when faced with great beauty?
I remember seeing Rosa Bonheaur’s massive oil painting at the Met and standing in awe of the masterpiece. It’s difficult to describe the scale of its size and excellence without standing in awe of its presence. Each stroke of shadow and light expertly depicted the Parisian horse market in the mid-1800s.
Its great beauty made me feel small as a creator and writer. It’s not that I want crowds to stand in awe of writing. Or to proclaim its beauty from faraway lands. But I want it to be worthy of the gift given to me by God. I don’t want to always feel like a novice. Don’t we all want to be called beautiful?
And yet, I felt inadequate.
Will I ever measure up?
Will I ever learn to use my gifts?
Will anything I am called to do be called beautiful?
And this bitter root of comparison steals away the joy of pursuing God’s calling. It tells me lies and swallows me up until all I see is decay and ash. I could never see beauty past the eyes that are filled with doubt.
Until I set my eyes on true beauty. Until I look to Jesus. Hebrews 12:2 (ESV) says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Am I looking to Jesus? He set the stars in the heavens, feeds the lowly birds, and dresses the wildflowers in beauty. If I truly believed he is Lord of all, wouldn’t I trust him in my gifts and talents? Wouldn’t I surrender to him my doubts of unworthiness? How could I ever doubt our Great Creator that has “made everything beautiful in its time?”(Ecclesiastes 3:11, ESV). And remember, that because he is King and worthy, I don’t have to strive for perfection?
And I’ve come to realize that my eyes never beheld the beauty of perfection until I marveled at the beauty of the cross.
I pray, sweet friend, that you see the beauty of the cross as well. For in it lies the purpose of your gifts and talents. May you use them to glorify God and use them to spread the gospel.
You don’t have to measure up. God’s sovereignty will prevail as you walk in his commandments.
You will use your gifts as you fix your eyes on him and his beautiful word, the Bible.
He and he alone will make you worthy of your calling.
You will walk in the beauty of your calling and purpose when you behold the beauty of Christ.
“To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, ESV).
Shana Burchard is an award-winning writer from northwestern Pennsylvania. She lives with her husband and two beloved children. When she’s not writing articles and books, she enjoys taking walks outside, coffee dates, and laughing with friends. As a young girl, she always wanted to be a writer and would write stories in her free time. She earned English and Psychology degrees from Allegheny College along with a master’s degree in education from Mercyhurst University. Her first book The Puppy Who Could Not Bark was released in 2022. She also has poetry and a short story featured in the anthology These Ties We Forge (Twenty Hills Publishing). Her articles have been featured in Healthy Christian Lifestyles Magazine, Calla Press online, and One Determined Life blog. Follow her journey at https://linktr.ee/shburns7
