'la belle et le bete'

'La belle et la bete' is a well known french storytale about a prince that is cursed to be hidious until he finds true love (we know it better as its Disney-fide version, Beauty and the Beast). In the tale, the prince learns that beauty lies within the soul of a person, rather than in their appearence. I think this is HUGE.

Beauty lies within the soul.

I'm in the process of reading Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis, and so far I like what I'm reading. Alot. The part I'm currently reading is discussing beauty and creation. Someone Bell was doing a wedding for commented about the nature surrounding the site of the service, "Something holds this all together." I am beginning to believe that our job in telling people about Jesus is to be the catalyst for the Hoy Spirit to spark within them what already was there: a fingerprint, an echo of Creator God. Somehow, we know that we are all beasts and that there is something simply not right about all the china breaking out into song. But if this were all that we are, we would never know there was a curse, and never know that true love existed at all. Man's attempts at religion are a slap in this philosophy's face. We are wired to seek true beauty - and to fight for it once we find it.

Interesting that a man once told a story that went quite like this. He said there was once a man who discovered a great pearl, the greatest in existence. He went away and sold everything he had, and bought it.

Do I desire true beauty enough to sacrifice all to gain it?