Wayne Grudem, in his Systematic Theology, compares the perfection of God to the beauty of God. It is a thrilling study. To cut to the point, what he is saying is that when we speak of God as perfect, we are saying that there is not one thing God lacks. He has met the standard of perfection, there is nothing more he needs to add to Himself in order for Him to be called perfect.

While perfection takes on a negative note there, speaking of the fact that God lacks nothing in order to be perfect, beauty speaks positively. While God lacks no quality in order for Him to be classified as perfect, He also positively possesses every excellent quality that would constitute Him the most beautiful, wonderful, desirable being in the universe and infinitely beyond.

Many have never thought of God in this way. They think of God as a grumpy old man who is never satisfied. This is a sinful parody of who God really is. To the fallen mind, beautiful is the most far removed description of God one could imagine. Yet, once God has turned on the floodlights of faith in your heart and you come to know more and more about this awesome God, the word beauty begins to become more and more fitting as you think of what God is like. Imagine every facet of beauty you have ever seen. Imagine every degree and kind of beauty your eyes have ever rested on and your mind has imagined. Think for a moment as you read this. What is the most breathtakingly beautiful thing you can imagine? What is the most powerful and compelling vision of beauty you can conceive of in your mind? What is the most ravishing and desirable concept of beauty you can envisage?

I can assure you that the beauty of God puts your most thrilling thoughts to shame. God is more radically desirable, more attractive, more delightful to your eyes, more arrestingly beautiful than you could ever dream up if you were given an eternity to do so. He meets the standard of absolute perfection, but beyond that, he possesses, as His personal qualities, every feature that makes Him positively the most desirable being in His universe.

Oh the moment when His people first set eyes upon Him in all His beauty! Oh the stabbing thrill in our renewed hearts when His beauty electrifies us as we are received into His presence. Oh the charge in the atmosphere, the vibrance, the mad rush of blood to the face and the pulsating heart that will grip us as we breathe in our first breath of the aroma of Christ. As the old song expresses it, “A gasp, a thrill of joy”. Imagine the moments, standing at the head of the aisle on your wedding day multiplied by infinity! The weak knees, the shaking hands, overwhelmed by the beauty of your delightful bride.