Blind Beauty

By |Published On: February 16, 2018|Categories: 4-Minute Radio Program|

What a wonderful hymn this is to sing during this season of Lent…

When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of Glory died;
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.

You know, whenever I sing this glorious old hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” I think about surveying that cross and picturing what Jesus looked like after having been beaten so mercilessly. He was more than wounded, and it says in Isaiah 53, there was no beauty, no comeliness, nothing in Him physically to attract us – goodness, after what He went through, all the bruising and the beating, leading up to the cross, people must have been repulsed, they must have turned their heads. But for us Christians? The idea of Jesus bruised, battered, bleeding…it’s a priceless picture. In some ways a beautiful picture. All together lovely. In the Song of Solomon this wounded Savior is described as the fairest of 10,000, a lily of the valley, the rose of Sharon… truly something, Someone, beautiful.

And when we talk about painful, awful things that are, the same time very beautiful, I’m reminded of a friend – I’ll call her Rhonda – who, many years ago, was horribly burned in an automobile accident. A car careened out of control and hit Rhonda’s car head-on, scarring her for life. My friend lost her eye, lost her arm… and worse than that, she lost her face. When I first met Rhonda, I was taken aback; her facial disfigurement is that awful that bad. But you know, when you spend time with her, all tension and apprehension melts away simply because of Rhonda’s voice – oh, what a sweet and gentile voice she has, so soft, so winsome. Hers is a truly beautiful voice, filled with grace straight from heaven. And with serenity and peace. And what makes her voice all the more lovely is the fact that Rhonda is a solid believer in the Lord Jesus. 

I remember when Rhonda attended one of our Joni and Friends’ conferences so many years ago – I was standing in line a few people behind her. And I noticed that my blind friend, Peter Sumner from Australia… Peter was standing right behind Rhonda and he seemed to really enjoy talking with her. Later on my blind friend said to me, “Joni, who was that beautiful woman I was speaking to?” Isn’t that something! Being blind, Peter had no concept of Rhonda’s severe facial burns – I mean, to him, her voice painted an attractive picture of a truly lovely woman. Just by her voice, and to Peter, Rhonda was altogether lovely.

Others may look at Jesus and wince. They may look the other way, taken aback and put off by the horror of the crucifixion. But when we survey the wondrous cross and see Jesus and the sacrifice that makes Him truly lovely, the cross becomes a beautiful thing. A very, very beautiful thing.

Something for you to remember when you survey the wondrous cross this Lenten season.

Music: “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” by Isaac Watts; Public Domain.

Previously aired as Program #7254 on: 2-18-10 

© Joni and Friends

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