Displaying the Beauty of God in an Ever-Changing World
By Sarah Mockler
Winter had just given birth to the splendor of spring and the notion of swapping my thick knits for lighter layers was an exciting one. I had also been a mama for a full year and felt the need for a little polish and poise in my wardrobe and appearance.
I consulted a trusted style educator’s Instagram to see what spring trends awaited me and … I was surprised at best. Barrel jeans had all but replaced my favored “skinny” silhouette, and I was slightly embarrassed to see that capris were trending … again. Haven’t we been here before? I mused.
As I scrolled, I was greeted by all the millennial fashion jokes about not feeling sufficiently dressed without a long cardigan and the like. It was then that I realized with chagrin that I had indeed come of age. I have lived through my first fashion life-cycle and things I once wore in elementary and middle school present themselves as “en vogue.”
It was the combination of all these things that inspired me to pick up a slim, punchy volume on classic style at the library. I had hopes that the practicals inside would help me hone my aesthetic … and I was also fairly confident that it would be devoid of items like barrel jeans and capris.
Over the course of those 200 or so pages, I relished the enduring lines of the trench coat, basked in the beauty of a classic red nail, and embraced the principle of shopping like an editor. I resonated with themes like “quality over quantity” and could not get over the sentence, “Classics are the cream that rises to the top of everyday life…”
Long after I finished the last page, I found my soul was being stirred … and for far deeper reasons than my wardrobe. Have you ever had that happen? Where the Lord interrupts your intended journey (a.k.a. creating a capsule wardrobe) and sets your gaze afresh on who He is and, thus, how you should be? That is what happened for me. So what was it that resonated with an eternal ring in my soul?
The Essence of Set Apart Living
In a word, it was timelessness.
With stunning clarity, I realized that was the quality I had been trying to put my finger on all along. The yearning in my heart was to be timeless. But it reached beyond wardrobe staples to highlight a quality I am passionate about in my walk with Christ.
In a culture that is over-saturated with information, trends aren’t limited to our closets but also overflow into Christianity — and this is where we must be especially careful. Just as I didn’t want to splurge on jeans that would serve me for only one season, so I don’t want to accept every new notion that pops up on the Christian market just because it comes in a pretty package or because “everyone else is doing it.” Listening prayer, embracing the liturgical calendar, partaking in the Jesus Calling movement, practicing the Hebrew feasts, etc. — the trends within Christianity abound! And within a few years’ time there will be new trends to contend with, or maybe those I have listed above will have become obsolete.
Biblically-infused intentionality must accompany us as we seek to curate an enduring collection of truth, compile which disciplines give life to our personal walk with Jesus, and sharpen our discernment. We would do well to realize that it is generally true that the more fleeting the source of information, the more fleeting the trend. Meaning, we should avoid collecting “Instagram theology,” and instead form our belief system from meatier sources of biblical information (i.e., sermons, sturdy Christian biographies, solid commentaries, our local churches, etc.).
The Beauty of Timelessness
So what do I mean when I say I want to be a “timeless woman”? I think first we must look at God — the Timeless One. God is outside of time; He is eternal. He is not bound to the trends and changes that so easily influence us. And, therefore, as those who are in Christ, we also do not have to be bound to the trends that sway the culture so easily. It is because of Jesus — who is the same yesterday, today, and forever — that we can grow in the enduring quality of timelessness.
A timeless woman reflects this beautiful aspect of God’s character. She reaches beyond the here-today-gone-tomorrow trends and points to the beauty and unchanging “otherness” of God in this ever-changing world. She is fortified in core, quality truths that encompass her personal beliefs and the convictions to which she adheres. And it is from this core collection of eternally-applicable truth that she is able to keep herself from negative spiritual fads and see clearly to detect which trends correspond with or contradict Scripture.
Timelessness is the essence of set apart living and a defining characteristic of every set apart woman. In fact, the quality of being timeless in our faith, character, and expression is part of the heartbeat of our team here at Set Apart. We seek to share timeless truth that will stir your heart for decades to come … not just the next 20-year “fashion cycle.”
It is also what knits set apart women together from a span of eras to form a league that our team gleans from and references often. Just what do Amy Carmichael, Corrie ten Boom, Elisabeth Elliot, Gladys Aylward, Catherine Booth, Darlene Deibler Rose, and other dear friends of the faith have in common? They are timeless and so have the ability to speak to us today just as powerfully as they did when their stories were first penned.
I, too, long for the words that I share to have the same evergreen ability to be passed down from generation to generation — not because they are profoundly eloquent, but because they are strong in truth. The world doesn’t need more of my uniqueness, it needs more of Jesus. Embracing timelessness is a way for me to decrease so that His presence may increase and abound in my life and overflow onto the lives of others.
It’s on my heart to share with you the understated elegance of timelessness. I consider the following core pieces that will never go out of style, and while they won’t make you look like a specific trend, movement, or magazine … they will make you look more like Jesus — oh blessed thought!
STYLE SECRET #1
Behold Your God
Have you recently taken time to behold your God: to ponder His character, ways, nature, and names as He has expressed in His Word? It is impossible to seek Him as hidden treasure and not find Him high and lifted up, worthy of all praise and honor, and yet find ourselves untouched and empty of worship as a result.
No matter the churning political turmoil, what fashion trends go out and en vogue, what ideas are touted as new and novel, what situations interrupt the landscape of our own lives … we can remain immovable to changes that would seek to sweep us off our feet as we fix ourselves upon His unchanging character. Let’s be reminded of the strength of this theme found in His Word:
“For I am the Lord, I do not change…” Malachi 3:6a
“…with [God] there is no variation or shadow of turning.” James 1:17b
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8
The beauty found in beholding is that, as we fix our gaze on the radiance of His nature, character, and ways, we become more like Him. And not only that, but our awe and adoration of the Almighty is brought to flourishing. The woman of virtue in Proverbs 31 reminds us of an amazing truth when it comes to style, “…beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised” (Prov. 31:30, emphasis added). If we want to grow in timeless beauty, we would do better by growing our fear, or awe-filled reverence, of the Lord rather than reaching for the newest product at Sephora.
As a culture, we are prone to getting distracted by the shining, sparkling promise of “new” only to find that it fails to deliver timeless beauty, wisdom, or the enduring nature we were longing for. It may be more popular to reach for a repackaged form of a Christian discipline, fashion trend, or lifestyle value, but the question is: Will it satisfy the longings of our hearts the way that He can?
The safety found in beholding our God is that it tempers us as we interact and engage with the world around us, enabling us to be in the world and not of it. Let me be clear — we will change as the passage of time unfolds. But timelessness doesn’t seek to avoid change at all costs, rather it equips us to incorporate only the new things that will uphold that which will never change — the expression of Truth in our lives.
STYLE SECRET #2
Hold to the Authority of the Word
Simply put, hold tightly to the fact that God’s Word doesn’t change — it is not meant to fit into the mold of our modern times. Rather, our modern times are made clear as we hold them up against the unchanging Word. Furthermore, God’s Word is promised never to return void, or come back to us empty. It is always applicable and relevant for our situation — whatever that may be! What is needed in our age of relative truth is a simple and sturdy faith that echoes what Leonard Ravenhill preached long ago: “We have adopted the convenient theory that the Bible is a Book to be explained, whereas first and foremost it is a Book to be believed (and after that to be obeyed).”
Do we treat God’s inspired, infallible Word as a mere textbook to be argued, debated, and reasoned away (and many times our faith along with it)? Or do we treat it as Sacred Ground upon which to tremble before His truth? Is it an intimate meeting place with which to have beautiful communion with the Lover of our soul? Is it the unfolding of His eternal purpose as seen through creation, redemption, and the promise of His return, or is it merely the book we consult to find personal comfort for our current predicament?
A timeless application of truth serves us beautifully in strengthening our discernment to test modern messages, resources, and more against absolute Truth. In an age of confusion and doubt, we can stand strong against deception, error, and the ravenous wolves that seek to lead us astray or shipwreck our faith as we look to the Bible for direction.
STYLE SECRET #3
Invest in Imperishable Beauty
Would you believe that my idea for this article was first about modesty? But as I pondered what timeless style meant for me, it had little to do with a certain clothing style or standard and everything to do with the nature of Christ my King. Timeless living is rooted not so much in a certain look as it is in a certain state of being.
As I made my way through that little book on style I ran across a statement that I promptly wrote down: “Your style is your character.”
Truer words were never written! Timelessness influences both the way we think and the way we look. This is beautifully illustrated in the very words of Jesus: “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:45 NIV). What is stored up in our heart — our character — will impact the words we speak and infuse themselves into our actions. So rather than investing in a bunch of external improvements, we should first look at cultivating internal Christlike character in our lives.
Without a doubt, the most classy women of my acquaintance are those who have excelled in godly character. They are women of virtue and subsequently are women of heavenly style who are resplendent with His beauty. They have chosen to adorn themselves with the best of what never goes out of style: a discretion in their speech, a forgiving spirit, a genuine thankfulness for their given portion, a posture of contentment, a heart of hospitality that makes others feel welcome, a contagious joy and holy laughter, an integrity that stands for what is right, and a tongue that is full of the law of kindness.
May we prize what God prizes when it comes to unfading, imperishable beauty and let the process of our personal style first begin with the hidden person of our heart. I guarantee you it will naturally work its way outward to bless others and direct attention heavenward.
· · ·
That little book gave me fresh articulation of the essence of set apart living and helped me define my personal style in the process. But better still was steeping my heart in a profound meditation of who He is. May you, too, find your soul lifted to the One who is timeless in His expression, eternal in His truth, and faithful in all of His ways.
This article was originally published in Issue 46.
For more content, explore our article collection.