THE BEAUTY IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER

NÉT ĐẸP THEO MẮT NHÌN

Kinh thánh: Nhã ca 1: 5-11

Câu gốc: GIĂNG 13: 1 phần B – Ngài đã yêu kẻ thuộc về mình trong thế gian, thì cứ yêu cho đến cuối cùng.

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THE BEAUTY IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER

Bible: Song of Solomon 1: 5-11

Main verse: JOHN 13: 1 part B – Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

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– It is a surprise for some people, especially unbelievers, to find out that there is a love song in the Bible. It is the song of Solomon written about the love between a man and a woman. People thought that a love song like that should not be in a religious book.

– For many people, the love between a man and a woman is an earthly thing, not suitable to be mentioned among heavenly matters. That’s one of the many reasons that in other religions, when a person dedicate their life for religious duties, they try to avoid the love between a man and a woman and vow to never get into marriage.

– But God has chosen that kind of love to describe the relationship between Christ and His church. That’s why He inspired Solomon to write this song. Now, it has become part of the Bible, because in it, we can discover many wonderful teachings relating to the love of Jesus Christ for the Christian church and how Christians can love Him back.

EPHESIANS 5: 25 – Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.

Ê-PHÊ-SÔ 5: 25 – Hỡi người làm chồng, hãy yêu vợ mình, như Đấng Christ đã yêu Hội thánh, phó chính mình vì Hội thánh.

EPHESIANS 5: 31-33 – For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Ê-PHÊ-SÔ 5: 31-33 – Vậy nên người đờn ông phải lìa cha mẹ mà dính díu với vợ mình, hai người cùng nên một thịt. Sự mầu nhiệm ấy là lớn, tôi nói về Đấng Christ và Hội thánh vậy. Thế thì mỗi người trong anh em phải yêu vợ mình như mình, còn vợ thì phải kính chồng.

– So Christians should look into Christ’s examples and study His teachings to learn how to love our spouses accordingly.

– But today we are not going to discuss that kind of love, but we will use some verses in this passage to consider how people perceive beauty in others from their own eyes, and from that, we can understand one aspect of true love and get some psychological benefits for ourselves.

– In verse 5, a Shulamite girl said that she was dark, but lovely. It showed that she was very confident in her loveliness although there were a lot of young girls around who she called daughters of Jerusalem.

SONG OF SOLOMON 1: 5 – I am dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, Like the tents of Kedar, Like the curtains of Solomon.

NHÃ CA 1: 5 – Hỡi các con gái Giê-ru-sa-lem, tôi đen, song xinh đẹp, như các trại Kê-đa, như màn cháng của Sa-lô-môn.

– She was not arrogant, but she felt confident in her own appearance. It is a good virtue that anyone should have about oneself. We should know exactly who we are and appreciate our own abilities or qualities.

– Many people made a mistake of wanting to be like someone else rather than being themselves. That kind of illusion never helps a person build up confidence. We should always be ourselves, and as we are Christians, we should try to be like our Father in heaven:

MATTHEW 5: 48 – Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

MA-THI-Ơ 5: 48 – Thế thì các ngươi hãy nên trọn vẹn, như Cha các ngươi ở trên trời là trọn vẹn.

– Therefore, all of Jesus’ teachings is meant to make us become good people, so that we can win other people for Him and for the Kingdom of God.

– The people themselves should not be dependent on outside appearance, but rather on their personal characters and inner beauty. Those positive traits will determine a person’s goodness and/or loveliness. Some people, who have friendly manners and good communication skills, can be good influences as well.

– Many years before when my family and I went back to Vietnam for a visit, I met my wife’s cousin for the first time. She came into the airport to greet us. After she parted away and we got on a taxi, I told my wife that her cousin was very lovely. That was the first impression when I met her.

– Later on, after many meetings and because of what my wife told me, I then noticed that her cousin was somewhat short and had a flat nose. For many people, these features would put them at disadvantage with others, but I did not notice them the first time we met. In my opinion, she was more attractive than many people who have good features than her. It was because of her personality.

– So, for us Christians, we do not need to worry about our figural appearances. They cannot compete with our personalities. As we try to be like Christ, we will be lovely in other people’s eyes.

– And in verse 8, the man called the Shulamite girl as the fairest among women. It did not mean that she was the most beautiful girl on Earth, but rather she was the most beautiful girl in his eyes.

SONG OF SOLOMON 1: 8 – If you do not know, O fairest among women, Follow in the footsteps of the flock, And feed your little goats Beside the shepherds’ tents.

NHÃ CA 1: 8 – Hỡi người đẹp hơn hết trong các người nữ, Nếu ngươi chẳng biết, hãy ra theo dấu của bầy, Và chăn các dê con mình gần bên trại kẻ chăn chiên.

– In reality, there is no one who can claim to be most beautiful above everyone else. The female beauty is like flowers. Their beauty is different to each others’ because of their diversity in colors, shapes and scents.

– So, the beauty of a person depends on whoever looks at them, and in this case, it was the Shulamite girl. She might not be beautiful as the other girls, but in his eyes, she was the most lovely girl he ever met. It was enough for him.

– In this passage of Solomon’ song, God wants us to know one important secret to find happiness in love. It is to love a person by their personal characters rather than the outward appearances.

– An outward appearance or beauty can be changed over time, and when people get older, their beauty will slowly fade away and then one day, it will be no more. When a man loves a woman solely because of her outward appearance, his love will be gone someday along with her fading beauty and their happiness will be gone too.

– That’s what happened to a lot of people. That’s also why people try so hard to retain their appearances of their younger years. Unfortunately, most of them failed because it is against nature. Therefore, their failure will result in misery.

– But when a man and a woman love each other because of their inner beauty, their happiness will last longer and in many cases, it last to the day they die. For inner beauty is the character, the personality of a person, and it cannot change overtime. It will always be with them until their last breath.

– In real life, most of people love one another because of their outward appearances. That’s why there are many broken hearts and lots of sorrows. More than often, when a woman was loved by her outward beauty only, that love would never last. When it ended, she would never find it back from the man that loved her. It is gone forever.

– That’s why God taught us to love one another by the inner beauty so that we can have happiness in our lives for as long as we live. That’s why we have the song of Solomon in the Bible.

– And because God loves us by our inner beauty, we should try to build up good characters and personalities according to the standards in the Bible, so that He will love us forever.

JOHN 13: 1 part B – Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

GIĂNG 13: 1 phần B – Ngài đã yêu kẻ thuộc về mình trong thế gian, thì cứ yêu cho đến cuối cùng.

– As for us, may God bless us with more happiness as we try to love each other and ourselves in that way. Amen.