"How do I look?" That may very well be one of the most dangerous questions a wife can ask her husband. Depending on what she is wearing, there are times when a husband answers enthusiastically and promptly: "Lovely! Gorgeous!" But inevitably there are also times when the question must be cautiously approached, thoughtfully considered, and expertly diffused. The assessment of beauty can be so cruelly subjective.

We all have opinions of what is truly beautiful, according to our varying tastes. Nevertheless, God has given us expressions of unquestionable beauty. Flowers are one of those expressions. The Lord Jesus gives us a remarkable description of their beauty in Matthew 6:28-29,

See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these.

Incredible! God clothes the flowers magnificently.

The wealth of floral imagery contained in the Bible is quite astonishing. In this imagery flowers are not only objects of beauty, they are also symbols of beauty. In the Song of Songs chapter 2 the beloved describes herself as a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valley – a description her beloved immediately affirms.

In Exodus 25 God commands the lamp stand for his dwelling place to be made of pure gold, with flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms. Solomon's construction of the temple, described in 1 Kings 6 and 7, also includes flowers as an essential element. We read that the walls around the temple were decorated with flowers. The inside of the temple was constructed with cedar and carved with open flowers. Even on the doors to the inner sanctuary, open flowers were carved and overlaid with gold. These images included in the dwelling place of God were a reference to Eden, where God had created a perfect place of unimaginable beauty.

The beauty of Eden was broken by man's willful disobedience and the introduction of sin. The symbolism of flowers reflects this change, moving beyond beauty to illustrate the brevity of life, culminating in death. There is beauty on earth, but it inevitably fades away. Life abounds, but it is soon over. Job laments:

Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure (14:1-2). David writes: As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.Psalm 103:15

This (is) imagery continued in the New Testament. James uses it to encourage those in humble circumstances, reminding them that the rich will pass away like a wild flower, scorched by the heat of sun. Peter uses the imagery to encourage believers who have faith in the Lord and who delight in his holy Word: "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever" (1 Peter 1:24-25). He points the believers ahead, reminding them that there is much in store for those who love the Lord.

This is precisely what Paul writes about in 1 Corinthians 15:53. The Lord Jesus had spoken about how he clothes the grass with beautiful flowers, which themselves are clothed with beauty, and yet those flowers will quickly pass away. But God is preparing something wonderful and enduring for his children. The perishable and sinful nature that causes us so much pain and struggle will not continue forever. Daily we have to fight against the devil, the world, and especially ourselves, but there is an end in sight. Our troubles may seem unending, and our difficulties insurmountable. Yet the perishable will be changed! We will be clothed with a perfected nature and a perfected body, and that will be a gift of God which will endure forever.

If in this world God has created amazing beauty, what will the beauty of the world to come be like? Just imagine. The perishable will clothe itself will the imperishable and the mortal with immortality. This is God's promise to those who love him.

The people of this world chase after and envy the beauty that does not last, a futile pursuit. Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting. But the fear of the Lord is what truly counts. As God's beloved children we look forward to putting on the beauty of a perfected being that will last forever. We will be able to love God and each other perfectly. At that time any one of us may ask: 'How do I look?' We all know what answer we will hear.