Selling an old house is quite a job. Whether fifty, sixty, or seventy years old, there are wiring, plumbing, and air conditioning systems that need to be upgraded.
We can try to get away with repainting an old house, and it will look attractive from the street. However, the beauty in the paint is only skin deep. If people step inside, the flickering lights, the leaky pipes, and the drafty windows will let us know right away just how many repairs still need to be completed.
Beauty is only skin deep.
Remember the fable of the wolf who puts on sheep’s clothing so he can infiltrate the flock. That is like the devil. He is the angel of light, but his beauty is only on the surface. When his beauty is peeled away, we see he is no more than a beautiful beast, vying for our attention to pull us aside from the work of the Lord.
Hebrews 2:14 raises the standard of the Lord against the beautiful beast:
“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.”
Luke 1:35 tells us who will take his place:
“And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.’ ”
Isaiah 14:1-5 gives us our empowerment strategy:
“For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the Lord’s land as male and female slaves. They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them. When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: ‘How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury ceased! The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers…’ ”
Psalm 150:1-5 is our call to celebration over the defeat of the beautiful beast:
“Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!”
The devil appears beautiful to the world, but he has no power over the Child of the King. When we call upon the name of the Lord, the skin of the beast will fall away, and we will see the evil one for what he really is. We will know the truth, and the truth will set us free.
Look beneath the beauty, for it is there we will find the truth of the Christ.
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Code: FGO.C.11.15.vp.esv