In the movie Beauty and the Beast, we see how looking beyond an outward beastly appearance to the beauty within can be a positively transformative experience. Beauty is heralded and powerful. The poet John Keats said, “Beauty is truth, truth beauty—that is all.” If beauty is truth, then all the base and ugly things in our existence are coverings, clothing which conceals the true beauty and value of people created in the image of God, much like the curse placed on the Beast in the movie.

If beauty is truth, why then are we, as an advanced, progressive western society so consumed by analyzing and dissecting and examining all that is base and beastly in this world with an insatiable, consumptive appetite?

“We don’t,” you might say.

Oh, but we do. Our entertainment is so often based on the themes of violence, cruelty, betrayal and inhumanity, or, when we consider reality TV, simply the most base forms of unthoughtful humanity. Shows like The Bachelor or The Kardashians do not promote the high order thinking or the transcendent values humans are capable of. They utilize low forms of gossip, ridicule or scandal to appeal on the most base level.

No thought of human value or purpose is attributed to either the figures on-screen or those watching from their couch.

When we consider the Christian worldview and the value placed in people as created beings and as expressed in the death of Jesus Christ for humanity, then the time we spend in our day to day lives, dwelling on the base and brutal aspects of this world, is an indictment on our claim to be image-bearers of God.

The world we live in is riddled with anxiety and depression. I myself battle anxiety. But I wonder if these struggles are exasperated by our cultural fixation with the darkness we see around us. The darkness is real and pervasive, but why do we let it pervade us so much more than we need to, particularly through popular entertainment? If fear is a battle for you in your life, why dwell so much on fear?

There is a better suggestion. Paul states in Philippians, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Think about these things.

How much of popular culture is created around truth and excellence?

Rather, it largely feeds on broken humanity, scandal and all that is base about our world. Let me encourage you to reject cynicism and callousness when considering people. We don’t have to be hard-boiled toward and suspicious of others. The second part of Romans 16:19 says, “Be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.” Which are we more adept in recognizing? What do we spend more time contemplating or being entertained by? Good or evil?

I had a sociology lecturer back when I was in university. He was a sociological genius and the head of the sociology department at University College Cork. I will never forget what he said in a lecture one day when discussing society’s obsession with mindless reality TV. He said, “When you take something and bring it down to zero, and then multiply it, you get an infinity of zero, an infinity of mindless, worthless totality, unprofitable rubbish.” He was so right. Human persons are capable of so much beauty. We are, after all, created in the image of God. But how will we ever reflect the beauty, goodness and kindness of God, His excellence, purity, honor, commendation or truth when we are not looking at beauty, particularly God’s beauty, and His reflected beauty in creation and humanity? Instead, with blinders on, we stare abjectly at the “Beast:” the cruelty, violence and depravity of the world.

“But these things (cruelty, depravity and violence, etc.) exist,” I hear you say. “Should they not be given our consideration?” Yes, of course, they must. As Christians, we are mandated to combat these forces with the love of God for humanity, but this is a very different form of consideration than hungrily being entertained by these themes.

Paul also says in Philippians chapter four, verses 4-7: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

According to Paul in these verses, how do we find peace?

I would suggest Paul is saying we find peace through dwelling on God. When we are happy, rejoice in the Lord, when we are anxious, look to the Lord for help, when we are grateful, thank God. God is purity and beauty, so look to Him and dwell on Him. Jesus said, “When you see Me, you see the Father.”

For true beauty, look to and dwell on Jesus as He is revealed to us in the Bible. Remember that humanity is made in the image and likeness of God, so do not dwell on the aspects of humanity that have become base and beastly.

Do not entertain yourself with the base things of the world, when we have been imbued by God with the capacity for so much more. Psalm 8 states humanity is “crowned with glory and honor.” Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” We so easily forget the glory of God, of His creation and how He loves the people of this earth; this is largely due to the amount of time we spend dwelling on the corruption and darkness in the world.

Even the hard atheist Nietzsche said, “If you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” If you dwell so much on darkness, the darkness eventually permeates you. So dwell instead on light; it too will permeate your being. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.” So let us then be light (Matthew 5:14). Colossians 1:13 says, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His beloved Son.”

Just ask yourself, What am I spending my time dwelling on?

Is it darkness and fear? Is it inhumanity and brokenness? Or is it the beauty and power of God? Is it His excellence and purity because whichever one of these you dwell on will affect how you view the world, society, your own life and the people around you. You will see people either as high and capable of great beauty and creativity, or as low, base and beastly, not worthy of the love and respect given to them by God.

Christopher Hitchens, the renowned atheist thinker, states, “The biggest problem facing a post-religious or superstitious world is the lack of beauty and the transcendent.” Well, this is a very good point. Without God and His glory in the universe, where can we find the transcendent? What a great loss this would be; what an empty existence. The point is that, as Christians, we believe we do live in a universe that was created by God and that displays His glory. Why then do we often live as though this was not true, as though we live in this post-God world that even Hitchens describes as being empty of the transcendent? Instead of lifting our eyes to the beauty and glory of God and allowing this to inform how we love our fellow humans, we focus our eyes away from all that is worthy, beautiful and great, and we dwell on brutality, inanity and worthlessness.

Psalm 1 says: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

This man in Psalm 1 made his choice. He dwelled on the beauty and greatness of God. He rejected the low and scoffing ways of society, and this choice affected his life. He was rooted in the reality and foundation of God.

If we believe in God, let us live like that is true. As Paul so wisely tells us, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

To think about the glory of God seems like a grand endeavor indeed, but Jesus said in John 14:9, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” God gave up His power and glory to become a man, if we need to consider the beauty of God, then we need look no further than Jesus. God made Himself known to us in Jesus. Jesus is kind, powerful, humble and self-sacrificing. He is our inspiration; He gives value to all humans because He loved them so much He died for them. Let us then see the people we encounter in our lives as beautiful and worthy of love, because that’s how God sees them.

So what it’s to be, Beauty or the Beast? What we think about is important, so let’s choose to dwell on Jesus, on the glory of God, rather than dwelling on the base and beastly things found in this world.

We all had a starting point in life. I was born into a Christian home with a pastor for a father. My parents have been married about four decades. My family ate dinner around the table almost every night, did Bible devotions and went to church every Sunday. This was my beginning. We all have one, and it’s easy to get where we started all mixed up with our identity.

Being raised in a Christian home doesn’t make me a Christian, and beyond that, being raised in a Christian home doesn’t define who I am. It helped shape me, train me, and I am absolutely privileged to have grown up in the home I did. It wasn’t until I got older that I realized that my beginning was rare, almost movie like. That many of my friends came from homes where they were quite the opposite.

The crazy thing is…our identity is the same.

No matter what our beginning was, every single one of us was made in the image of God.

God says so in His Word at the very start, so we wouldn’t wonder. Genesis 1:27 says, “He made mankind in His image, making them male and female.” Further in His Word it says, “While we were still sinners, [before we called ourselves His] Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8). What do we make of this? I see two things to make a big deal about: 1) God made us and 2) He died for us! This means, you guys, that He loved us, EVEN before we chose to follow Him!

This is where our identity is! It’s not in how we were raised; it’s in who we are! And we are God’s!

This is where our identity is! It’s not in how we were raised; it’s in who we are! And we are God’s!

Yes, my name is Shannon. I am married. I have two kids and a dog. I lead worship, and I burp a lot (don’t be jealous). But none of these things make me who I am.

Who am I? I am made by God. I am loved, cherished and treasured.

I was bought at the highest price that could ever be paid. I have made many mistakes in my life, yet Jesus will still look down on me, pick me out of a crowd and say, “Yep, that one is mine, and isn’t she lovely?!” And He does the same for you! Yes, YOU! I don’t need to know who you are to know you are loved extravagantly by God! You are a human aren’t you? (If not, I’m not sure how to proceed, hmmm). Our identity is in Christ, and no bad beginning, bad ending or horrible stuff in between can change that! You were created by God, in the image of God, and He looks at you with nothing but love in His eyes! Even if you haven’t taken notice of Him yet and realized that He has an abundant life planned out for you, know this: There is no identity thief that can steal a life that is hidden in Christ! No person, no hardship, no demons, no sickness, no broken relationship, no mistake, not even death can take away God’s love for you! (Romans 8:38-39 the Shannon version).

At the beginning of every year, every season of life, or every day, we can say, “We have not been this way before.” A new adventure, a new way, things that never happened to us before give us the opportunity every day to experience God’s presence and power.

The question is, are you ready?

Are you willing? Do you believe it? The children of Israel, after 40 years of wandering in the desert, stood on the river shore, the Promised Land in front of them. All they had to do was cross the wild and dangerous Jordan River.
You can imagine the fear, uncertainty and hesitation that murmured through the people. Joshua sent instructions through the camp to follow the ark of the covenant being held by the Levitical priests because, “Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before” (Joshua 3:4). Joshua also instructed them, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”

It was harvest time. The river was at flood stage and not easily navigable. Enemies could be waiting for them on the other side. Did God order the soldiers and strongest men in the camp to lead the way? No, he put the priests and the Ark on the front lines. God fulfilled His promise to the children of Israel, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Like the Dad that He is, He goes before us, urging us to join the adventure, get our feet wet and step into the river, because He plans to do amazing things.
The priests stepped in to the river, and immediately, the water ceased to flow from upstream. Just like the stories of Moses, the elders remembered and the young ones heard told! It was the beginning of Joshua’s “amazing things.” The whole nation crossed the Jordan on dry ground.

You and I have been born in this particular stage of history, this hour in the history of humankind.

This is not an accident. God knows you, designed you and planned on your life being here at this time for specific reasons. We are another Joshua generation. We need to accept and understand our true identity. When we put our faith in Jesus, we inherit a new identity. We become His children, His son or daughter. But too many believers don’t realize this, nor are they seeing it manifested in their lives.

We need to engage and enforce our inheritance. The inheritance became reality the moment the Israelites stepped into the river. Passover was the night the nation was born. This day, the nation was baptized and revived as they stepped forward in obedience. Jesus taught, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). The word repent implies a change of action, to change your mind, to go in a new direction.

On this day, Israel received a new identity and headed in a new direction.

In Egypt they lived under a slave mentality. In the wilderness they held on to a survival mentality. Now it was time to embrace their new identity, as the recipients of God’s love, blessings and promises. Time to claim their inheritance. Time to develop an inheritance identity.

When we repent, we are changed. When we turn from the ways we have been thinking, living, believing and begin to follow the Lord into new territory, then and only then, do we experience what God promised.

We are transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). We are “new creations” (2 Corinthians 5:17). We don’t have to live with fear, worries and anxiety. These are the idols of a past without God. The more we accept and believe God’s great love for us, the stronger our identity as His children is established. The false identity is removed, and the power of God’s kingdom can be manifested in our lives.

I’ve been a teacher/preacher for a long time and am disturbed by what some of my colleagues teach. We are indeed sinners, for “all have fallen short of the glory of God.” That fact has been drilled into the church for centuries. We are not just sinners, but worthless sinners, and God doesn‘t really like us all that much.

After all, when the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, he opened his letter with, “To the dirty, rotten, worthless sinners who live in Ephesus,” right? No! He wrote, “To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace.”

The truth is, God found us valuable and loved us even when we were yet sinners.

Jesus taught, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44). We are His treasure.

“Sinner” is no longer our true identity. We have been forgiven and cleansed of all unrighteousness the moment we repent. We are God’s treasure, His beloved. Despite our failings, weaknesses, disobedience and acts of rebellion, He treasures us enough to send His Son to sacrifice Himself for us. We are His brave and triumphant children who follow Him into the river, unafraid, ready to face giants, smash idols and receive our inheritance.

We have not gone this way before…but we are ready when we follow our Lord. We can move ahead with confidence and in the power and authority of the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us. We can be a Joshua generation.

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright” (Leviticus 26:13).

A remarkable young woman named Amy, who I met in Singapore, told me her story. Hers is a story of heartbreak and confusion, as she was drawn into a lesbian lifestyle and a series of painful relationships, including one with a man for seven years. She bravely and simply describes her journey.

But what struck me the most about her story is her courage and her humble and sincere way of explaining what it means to “come home” to the Father’s love. After her last painful break up, she said, “This was one of the toughest things I have had to do. I questioned God in my heart as I cried out. The pain was real.”

It can feel impossible to leave behind a lifestyle and mentality that has captured your heart and mind, and that has become a way of life.

This verse in Leviticus where God said, “You should not be slaves; I have broken the bonds of your yoke,” was a reminder. Nine times in the book of Leviticus the Lord reminded the people how He delivered them from Egypt. After 400 years in captivity, slavery had become a mindset, a learned, generational way of life.

Sin and deception can do that. They trap us into a mindset of slavery that not only shackles our lives but is passed down from generation to generation.

The young ones held in captivity in Egypt learned from their elders, “Never lift your head or make eye contact. Never be yourself or speak your mind. If you do, you will suffer consequences.” After Moses pleaded, “Let my people go,” over and over on the night called Passover, freedom came. In one night God delivered them from Egypt. But their mentality, their perception of life and the way they thought of themselves—that would take a lifetime. To realize they were elevated to being God’s chosen people, the sons and daughters of the Almighty – that’s a radical change of life and thinking.

Many of us live in a slave mentality.

A slave to habits and broken lives, slaves to past wounds, slaves to our flesh or the false peace the world offers. It takes time for your mind to start thinking like a free person. But first, you need to know two important truths: Know your identity and know the authority God has given you. You are the sons and daughters of the living God who uses His power to love and bless you. The enemy doesn’t even have to work hard to discourage and deceive if he can lie to you about who you really are. Then the devil wants you to doubt the authority God has given you. You need to remember —you are the living, breathing mobile carrier of the Holy Spirit of God. Your presence in the world breaks up spiritual darkness wherever you live and walk and proclaim Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

My friend Amy described her newfound freedom like this: “I hardly know best how to describe it. I felt God literally gave me His heart. There was this heart wrapping around mine. It is a heart filled with loving tenderness, forgiveness, and I could feel His pain for me. He knew of all my painful relationships. Then He spoke into my heart. Why have you put all your time and affection into one person after another, thinking they can heal or restore you?

It was at that moment that I knew no man or woman could ever heal me or restore me. It was this love, this forgiving heart, that deep conviction that I knew I had to surrender my emotions to Him, to take God’s heart and walk back into His arms. And that is what I did and have never been the same. ”

Amy describes her surrender and her freedom as “coming home.” “Coming out is never easy,” she says, “But coming home is worth it. Coming home is coming back to the Father’s heart, a heart that is filled with love, embracing you. A Father whose arms are wide open, waiting to receive you home. I know it is tough, and that many of you are struggling. You think you need the courage, or to be in the right setting in order to do things right. You don’t need to do that. Because God will put that courage in you already. He has. So let’s come home together. Let’s come home together.”

Amy struggled with a specific lifestyle, just as many of us are caught up in things that are destructive and enslaving, even as believers. That’s where God wants to remind us: You are free! You can come home! It has been said that salvation takes a moment, but sanctification takes a lifetime.

You can step into your true identity.

You are God’s precious son or daughter. Walk in the power and authority of your true identity. Learn what Amy discovered: The power of being free in the embrace of your heavenly Father.

The Jews asked Jesus how He dared to promise freedom and He answered, “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. A child of God abides forever, free. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). We are no longer slaves.

My first job was at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. I filed invoices, filled paper in copy machines, and learned the ins and outs of data entry at Calvary Distribution.

When you grow up working in the ministry, there’s an interesting process of discovery. You discover that people might fail, but Jesus never does. You discover that Christians have good days and bad days, and there are many ways to approach the business world from a Gospel perspective. You glean as much of the good as possible, and try to find the best in the logistics of ministry.

Separating your identity in Christ from your identity in ministry is a lifelong challenge.

At one of the ministries where I worked, I heard a transition plan shared. It involved the whole staff being removed from payroll, allowing the previous staff to spend a significant portion of time in prayer, fasting, and vision before anyone was rehired.

I was outraged at this idea.

The idea of firing a whole staff was ridiculous, at best, in my mind.

Over a decade later, that idea now seems brilliant. It didn’t end up being necessary or right in that place, but I understand now the point of that proposal. It was less about firing the staff and more about identifying our motives and calling to ministry.

The simple question still remains: if I knew that I would never receive another penny of income from any ministry source, would I continue to walk in the calling God has given me?

Working in the ministry has never meant receiving a massive income. I recently discovered that my twenty-one-year old friend working in the food service industry in Orange County makes double the amount I have ever received per month from a ministry job. It has never been about the money.

The Gospel we proclaim comes at a price of personal magnitude. At times, we will be misunderstood. Our friends may wound us. Our hearts may betray us. Our leaders may leave us.

I recently came across this verse in my personal devotional readings:

Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the LORD and say, “Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.” Micah 3:11 ESV

Scripture gives a clear, radical, tangible warning against teaching for a price, and yet I often find, to turn the phrase, that it comes at a price.

The Gospel we proclaim comes at a price of personal magnitude. At times, we will be misunderstood. Our friends may wound us. Our hearts may betray us. Our leaders may leave us.

Jesus never will.

The more I understand the Gospel, the more I marvel at the way Jesus lived the perfect life. His preaching came at a price, but He never joined the payroll of a ministry budget. He modeled a radical, sacrificial, generous love to all. It wasn’t a job. It was always a calling.

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Consider your calling. We know that because of Jesus, who became to us ALL THINGS, we can boast in the Lord, who saved us, and called us, and allows even our foolishness to be used for His glory.

I hope that if I knew that from tomorrow there would never be a dime of income at any time from any church, I would stop, and listen to Jesus.

And then carry on with whatever He called me to do, because He paid the only price that is eternal.