God created humankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them,
male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27)
Near our church, at the end of the street, is a camellia garden. One perfect but completed bloom fell to the mulch below. Its circlet of snowy petals was tinted with rouge, out on the tips, just so. Wafer-thin fingers of vibrancy reached from the mud, and implored me, “I am still alive, and too fine a thing to be down here.”
What makes the delicate membranes, geometric construction, and blended hues of a flower attractive to us? Why is the emerald head of a mallard handsome, or the vibrations of a symphony intoxicating, or the rainbow’s arc of prism colors jaw-dropping? What causes the breathless pause when a poem completes its rhythm using precisely the right word? In other words, why was my fallen camellia enthralling, but the mulch around it common?
A wildly creative God made no two humans alike, so we will never fully agree on what is beautiful. Still, there are some commonalities to our definitions. We like patterned symmetry, but also the unique and rare. We want things pure and unflawed. We desire order, but with creativity. We crave the rhythm of crescendos and rests, along with the contrasts of thrills and tranquility.
God is all these. He alone is unchanging, unique, rare, pure, unflawed, ordered, creative, passionate, restful, thrilling, and serene. We, likewise, are patterned to love the things our Creator is.
“Latent genetic patterning” is the terminology used in zoology to describe the imprinted preferences of an animal. For instance, a billy goat does not care about the display of a peacock’s tail. Ah, but a peahen really goes in for that sort of thing. She is patterned by God for attraction to iridescent feathers. You and I are patterned to love what our heavenly Father is. And that, quite simply, is what beautiful is. God is beauty.
Prayer: Father, I’m glad I’m created to love your beauty.