Beauty—More than Anatomy

I almost never watch TV, but last night my roommate had on Grey’s Anatomy. I sat down to join her, with half my attention on reprogramming my new phone. But this particular episode caught my attention, and piqued my interest in discovering more about something that confuses my mind, yet stirs my heart. I set my phone down and watched the drama draw out.

A patient recognizes Dr. Isobel “Izzie” Stevens from her modeling days and he refuses to allow her in the room with him. Viewers later learn he’s got prostrate cancer and doesn’t want the woman he fantasized see his emasculation.

I’m intrigued, because I’m trying to understand this male’s dilemma.
I turn to the pages of Xan Hood’s, Untamed. He helps me get it, at least a little bit.

In the chapter called “Beauty” Hood describes the draw of beauty, how he’s not alone in his search for it: “It seemed to be universal, desired by all—men and women, mothers and children, and even grandparents. It seemed everyone was trying to capture it in some form or another through a camera, by drawing it, writing about it, or by hiking to remote areas to find it.”

This I find true—why else would I find such great delight in exploring the marvelous mountains of Colorado? I take photos, write, collect flowers in the attempt to capture beauty.

But what is it about a woman’s body that gets men so excited?

Hood goes on to explain, “With this desire and stirring for beauty, I found a way to taste, for a brief moment, what it might be like to be with the beautiful girl. In my fantasies, I got the girl every time. I was her hero and knight in shining armor…Pornography offered to fulfill the longing and ache I had inside of me for a woman, and for beauty.”

As men long to taste beauty, they often settle for cheap substitutions. It’s not that they desire too much; it’s that they settle for so little.

I am guilty too. I focus on my outsides so much more than cultivating beauty in my soul. And yet I desperately long to be known and loved, not just for my appearance, but for who I am. As John Eldredge wrote in Wild at Heart, “Every woman is asking the question, ‘Am I beautiful? Am I lovely? Do you notice me?”

I want to be the beautiful girl, the one who gets noticed by a man and causes him to take action. I long to be the one for which he chooses to fight. I believe it’s within God’s design for this to happen—for a strong man to pursue a lovely woman, not just for her body, but for who she is.

The true beauty of a woman should bring out the best in a man. Likewise, the strength of a man acting in his God-given role should bring out the beauty in a woman. God made romance to be an amazing representation of how Christ loves the Church. And when love between a man and a woman works the way it should, it truly is a beautiful thing.

However, men and women can’t completely satisfy the longings of each other’s hearts, nor should they try. We must awaken to the ways our Savior pursues us, romances us even. The Creator of mountains, flowers, and bodies allows us to see beauty so we can turn to praise Him. He uses sunsets, rainbows, and lightning storms to show us His glory and remind us of His loving care. I imagine it’s like He’s saying, “See, look what I made. I cared enough to create this just for you to behold at this very moment. And I created you. I love you, and I want you to love me too. Don’t you see?”

Jared Anderson sings a song saying, “Nothing compares to the beauty of the Lord/
Jesus, your love takes my breath away/ And now I’m living every day for the beauty of the Lord.”

I don’t know the completeness of what it means to live for the beauty of the Lord, but I am sure it’s far more satisfying than seeking after a beauty that’s found in the cheap imitations of trashy magazines and sultry sitcoms.