By Lisa Quintana
Updated March 3, 2026
Some say that beauty is evidence that God exists.
Beauty grips us all. It floods our thoughts with enchantment and fascination. It attracts us. As we contemplate it, we are drawn to the goodness it seems to represent. If we think more about it, we can discover that it contains truth, and hopefully we will allow that truth to transform us as we learn from it.
From a purely evolutionary perspective, beauty doesn’t appear to be of any utility. If evolution is all about survivability, beauty certainly does not play a critical role. Yes, perhaps some species might be drawn to a certain color, but beauty is generally not necessary for survival.
However, a theistic worldview recognizes a Creator—the ultimate Creative One. As human beings made in God’s image, we not only recognize beauty, but we also enjoy creating it.
Beauty is illuminating. Consider how love is illuminated in a beautifully organized wedding. The whole ceremony can be designed to reflect the intense love a couple has for each other. Those in attendance are invited into that moment to celebrate a transcendent kind of love that encompasses the entire scene.
Until recently, it felt like few people had the time to stop and appreciate beauty. It was like people were on a treadmill that kept speeding up with no end in sight. In that scenario, who’s going to take the time to “stop and smell the roses?”
It seems like ugliness forces us to stop. Displaying the opposite of beauty, a coronavirus caused the whole world to slow down in 2020. COVID-19 will be remembered in history as a pandemic that shut down the world’s frenetic pace for a season. People stayed home to prevent the virus from spreading. Most complied because they wanted to do the right thing, but some did not. This forced stay-at-home order tested us and brought out our character. We asked ourselves, What will we do with our time?
Change would come, but it was too soon to see if any change became permanent. When the pandemic ceased, would we jump back on that treadmill, or would we have stopped long enough to reflect on our lives to make beautiful changes?
We remembered the importance of connection to our family and friends. We remembered that no matter how we felt, we were all deeply connected as a human race. This virus showed us that race doesn’t matter, age doesn’t matter, sex doesn’t matter, political parties don’t matter, and nationality doesn’t matter—everyone was affected by this virus.
What does matter? This virus should have made us think about the answer to that crucial question.
Beauty is an immaterial aspect of being human. You can’t measure it, quantify it, or run lab experiments on it; it just exists. Ugliness is a direct contrast to that, making us appreciate beauty even more. There is a beautiful side to this ugliness we now face, if we look for it.
To those who are anxious, remember the truth of Jesus Christ, the most beautiful human being who ever walked this earth. Like Jesus did, let’s reach out and help those who are most vulnerable. Remember the most repeated command in the Bible is “do not be afraid,” which appears 70 times in the NIV translation. Do not be afraid to help when you can. Let others see your faith by how you responded during this pandemic.