Beauty by Design

Jonathan Johnson

How are Christians to create beauty in their works? How can beauty become a practical goal for Christians in their worship and in their work? A brief reminder from the Exodus story helps us set off in the right direction for finding grounded answers to these lofty questions.

BEAUTY—COMMISSIONED BY THE CREATOR

When Moses went up to meet the Lord for forty days atop Mt. Sinai (Exod. 24), the first order of business was the collection of precious gifts for the creation of beautiful instruments of worship (Exod. 25–31). Here we read of a call for items that would be made “for glory and for beauty” (28:2, 40). Glory (kâbôd) and beauty (tiph’ereth) were meant as aims for the garments being described and for their use in worship reflective of God’s own glory and beauty (1 Chron. 16:29). But these aims weren’t merely ideas. The command of God was for things—buildings, tapestry, jewelry, clothing, and more—to be glorious, and be beautiful. In other words, to make glorious, beautiful things.