Let us rejoice that we are being made more and more into the likeness of Christ, and whether we are physically pleasing to look at or not, we have now, and will continue to grow in, a radiance that reflects our good and glorious Lord and that will never fade away.

Most often we think of beauty as one thing—usually as a way to describe a painting, the physical appearance of a person or nature. But we hear in Scripture that beauty also describes God, who “does not have a body like men” (Children’s Catechism). So, are there different types of beauty?

Outer beauty is merely visual, but inner beauty “radiates” from people.

In fact, there are different Hebrew words the Bible uses for the word “beauty.” One of these words has to do with radiance, as in the case of the priestly robes of Aaron (Ex. 28:2) or the radiance that surrounds and describes God (Ps. 96:6; Is. 28:5). Another word for beauty has to do with the physical appearance of people (Prov. 31:30; Ezek. 16:15), such as the writer of Proverbs cautioning the youth against falling for the physical looks of the dangerous woman, or the physical appearance of places like Jerusalem (Ps. 50:2). And still another word is used for God’s kindness (Ps. 27:4).

Perhaps this variety of Hebrew words used for “beauty” gets to the idea we all know: there is beauty that is only skin deep, and there is beauty that is much, much deeper. There is beauty that “radiates” from within people, and ugliness—or we could even say “darkness”—in some of the most physically beautiful people.

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