Thoughts on Elizabeth Taylor

Every woman wants to be beautiful. Every woman wants to take somebody's breath away. And the good news is that every woman can, because God himself shows us how and He gives us the grace.

1 Peter 3 is the gold standard of beauty-all those attributes of submissiveness, reverence, chaste conduct, gentleness, a quiet spirit, and fear of the Lord. What I would like to emphasize here is that we don't have to go around merely wishing that we were like that woman. We are not to think that there is nothing we can do about this until and unless the Lord sees fit to change us. That is a prevalent misunderstanding about how the grace of Christ operates. God's will is that we "put on" those spiritual qualities that we desire (See Colossians 3:8-16) and "put off" the ones we hate.

This is obedience by which we lay hold of our inheritance in Christ. He conforms us to His image (and to beauty) as we press into it. Do you wish to be kind? "Put on" acts of kindness, in a very deliberate way, in concrete situations. Do you wish to become discrete? Then "put on" discretion, being careful with your tongue. Do you wish to be lovely? Then consciously "put on" all the attributes in 1 Peter 3. Write them on a 3-by-5 index card and keep them in your pocketbook if you need to refer to them.

Elizabeth Taylor's death made front-page color-photo news in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Jane Russell, who also died this month, did not. But it was Russell who became a Christian and held Bible studies in Hollywood. That, to me, was when she finally came into true beauty.

Listen to commentaries by Andrée Seu.