You Look Beautiful Today. What’s Different?

And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard.” 1 Kings 10:6

Last week, while speaking with my wife, I put my proverbial foot in my mouth. “You look beautiful today. What did you do differently?” What I mean to say was, “You look even more beautiful than usual.” What she heard was, “You usually look quite plain, but something is different today.” I’d say she was just being oversensitive, but others overheard the exchange and were offended for her. My wife just laughed. She knew what I meant. She had done something different with her hair and the difference was noticeable. Not being very observant, I couldn’t tell exactly what had changed. My question just came out wrong.

When we change for the better, others notice. When the change is radical, they really notice. This is the lesson of today’s passage, in which the Queen of Sheba came from afar to visit King Solomon because she’d heard tales of his mythical wisdom and prosperity. Solomon followed God and God blessed Solomon. God’s work in Solomon’s life was so profound that it was the subject of legend in the surrounding kingdoms. According to the passage, the myth proved to be true as the Queen of Sheba witnessed first-hand all that God had done in Solomon’s life.

We may never be royalty, but the principle still holds true. When our lives are transformed for the better, others will notice. The question for many of us is, Have our lives been transformed?

I spent years claiming to believe in God, but I lived for myself. So, my life didn’t really look that different from those who had no interest in God. When I followed my appetite for drugs, tearing my life apart, I imagine there were those who scoffed at my faith. And he claimed to be a Christian . . . My critics understood that if a man claims to follow Christ, his life should look different.

If we follow God, our faith will radically shape our lives for the better. I don’t mean that we’ll get rich and famous and I don’t mean that we’ll never struggle. I do mean that as we grow in our faith, we will become more like Christ, filled with love, grace, wisdom, mercy, and kindness. When that happens, others will notice. If no one has ever noticed that there’s something different, something that sets us apart from those who don’t believe, then we may be doing faith wrong.