Beauty from Ashes - Mr. G. Bushanam

Beauty is an inner character of a person. It is a quality of a person. Peter in his writing says that women should focus more on inner beauty as compared to outward adornment – ‘it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight’ (1 Pet.3:4).

Ashes are a symbol of sorrow, sadness and heaviness of heart. It is an experience of lamentation. We read in the Bible during the time of Esther there was- ‘there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes’ (Est.4:3). So did the people of Nineveh during the time of Jonah (Jonah 3:4-6) Beauty from ashes is incomplete in itself unless we have a clear picture of these first three verses of Isaiah 61. ‘The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion–to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor’ (Isa.61:1-3). This passage is referred to as the ‘Nazareth Manifesto’ in New Testament. This passage is foretells the mission of the Servant of the Lord, Jesus Christ on earth. The Servant of the Lord, is called, and anointed by the Spirit of the Lord to fulfill God’s mission on earth.

When God’s Servant fulfills His mission, people who mourn in Zion, will receive comfort, and be given beauty from ashes, oil of joy for mourners, a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. When His Servant fulfills His mission, the righteousness of God will be established, it is a testimony and witness that will last, and with this God will be glorified. We too are servants of the Lord and he has anointed us to do certain things. What the servant is supposed to do is listed in Isa.61:1-3.

The word ‘to’ is very important here; it is an infinitive and it expresses purpose or intention of verb. To preach good tidings to the meek. To build up the broken hearted. To proclaim liberty to captives. To release the prisoners. To comfort all that mourns. To provide for those who grieve. We are living in the midst of suffering, sorrow, corruption, oppression, terrorism, etc.

The poor, the vulnerable, the women and children often fall prey to exploitation. This experience is an experience of ashes, which is symbolic of lamentation. They need a message of hope! God created the humans out of dust. Solomon the philosopher also affirms that from dust you are created and to dust you are created and to dust you shall return. It reminds life is full of purpose and meaning in short span. Jesus restored sight to a blind man by the ointment of dust. Jesus can use your life and mine to heal to the broken society around us. Apostle Paul reminds us that every Christian worker is an eastern vessel in which God has poured His treasures that God may manifest the excellence of the power of God. Yes we can restore beauty from ashes. God wants human hand for that. So beauty from ashes cannot be realized in mere words, it requires a redeemer. Be God’s redeemer for creating beauty from ashes.