A few nights ago, I was reading the Jesus Stroy Book Bible by Sally LLoyd-Jones to my nine-year-old daughter. We came upon the story of Joseph, his brothers, his temptation, his gift, his redemption, and his ultimate forgiveness – it is a lot for a nine-year-old to take in. As we ended our reading my daughter looked at me and asked, “Dad, why are there so many inappropriate things in the Bible?” I asked her to explain what she meant, and she went on to elaborate as only a child can that the Bible seems to be filled with stories about death, temptation, revenge, war, and all sorts of human atrocities. This puzzled her because isn’t the Bible supposed to be about God, and isn’t God supposed to be good? As you can tell I have my hands full with a very insightful and wonderfully curious little girl (she rocks, and I love her dearly). But how is a father supposed to respond to a question that has challenged the most sophisticated theological minds throughout history at nine o’clock on a Monday (why do all the hard questions have to come at the end of the day…)? Well, I did my best and with a shrug and a deep exhale I said, “because life is inappropriate, and the Bible is a story about the connection between what is bad and what is beautiful.” I then squinted my eyes hoping that this made sense or was at least enough to satisfy her curiosity so we could go to sleep. As only a nine-year-old could she looked at me with sleep in her eyes and said, “Okay”. So, I kissed her forehead and turned off the light.
I’m not sure if what I said made any impact on my daughter, but her question has stuck with me for the past few days. I can’t stop thinking about how hard life is, and yet how it still remains beautiful. The story of Joseph is an example of extreme difficulty that many face still to this day. There remains to be people sold into slavery, famines, family rejections, the allure of power. These are not things of the past they are happening now, this very moment. Yet there is still hope in humanity, forgiveness in families, and sacrificial love over self-interested power. A follower of Jesus should not walk blindly in a world full of badness, but neither should they be so consumed with what is bad that they miss beauty.
The fullest expression of this dichotomy is the cross. There are few things more gruesome than a crucifixion, let alone one being done to an innocent man. Yet, from that death millions upon millions have come to know new life. Jesus’ death was bad (even though we remember it as Good Friday but that is a different Blog post for a different time), but so much beauty has come from his sacrifice. So, as we continue to walk toward Easter Sunday let’s spend some time thinking about a few lessons from the Bible that enable us to see the beautiful through the bad.
Life Doesn’t Play Fair — But God Is Still at Work
The more I reflect on my conversation with my daughter the more I think about the unfairness of life. The Bible does not flinch at such unfairness. There are countless stories about the brokenness of the world. The pain that shows up uninvited. The heartache that doesn’t always come with a clear reason. Things like natural disasters, hunger, war, sickness, and loss, the kinds of “bad” that aren’t the result of individual choices, but the heavy realities of living in a fractured world.
The doesn’t ignore this kind of pain. In fact, much of the Bible gives language to it.
The Psalms are full of cries for help:
“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1)
Job’s entire story is built around suffering that he didn’t earn or deserve. He loses his children, his health, his home and not because he did something wrong, but because the world is not as it should be. His friends try to explain it away, but Job knows better. This story teaches us that sometimes the worst thing we can do is rush to explain someone else’s pain.
Even Jesus, who was perfect, lived a life surrounded by grief and injustice. He wept at the death of his friend (John 11:35). He mourned over the city of Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). He suffered public humiliation, physical violence, and betrayal. He entered into the very heart of human suffering because not to would be inauthentic and unbelievable. The savior of the world isn’t much of a savior if he doesn’t understand what we need saving from.
When Beauty Breaks Through the Cracks
But here’s the thing, in the middle of all the badness the Bible talks about, something unexpected keeps happening. Glimpses of beauty break through.
Think about the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. It was hot, dry, exhausting. They were homeless, uncertain of their future, vulnerable to attack. And yet every morning, manna appeared to feed them. Every night, God’s presence hovered above them in a pillar of fire to keep them warm. God didn’t remove the wilderness. He met them in it.
Or consider the early church in the story of Acts. Persecution scattered them across the region. But instead of stifling their faith, it spread. Communities of hope popped up in cities that had never heard the name of Jesus before. Beauty didn’t just survive the chaos it multiplied because of it.
Romans 8:22–23 says,
“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time… but we ourselves… groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.”
Groaning doesn’t mean God is absent. It means we’re still in the middle of the story. And the beauty is that even in our waiting, God is already doing something.
Eyes to See the Unseen
So, how do we train ourselves to see beauty when life feels overwhelmingly bad?
We start by choosing to notice. It’s easy to become numb. Easy to scroll, tune out, distract ourselves. But beauty takes attention and a choice. We must choose A walk outside over scrolling on our phones. We must choose to share a meal over quickly eating in our cars. We must choose to be a friend who checks in instead of a loner. We must choose moment of quiet in a world of noise. These are small ways to search and find the beautiful things of life.
Ultimately, we must remember that hope is not found in our circumstances. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:18,
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
This is not a call to ignore suffering. It’s a call to see through it and to trust that something more beautiful is happening.
Don’t Miss the Wonder
Here’s what I’m learning: We live in a world that is groaning. Things aren’t as they should be. But beauty still breaks through not because everything is fine, but because God is present in the middle of the mess.
This week, look around. Pay attention. Where is beauty showing up in the middle of the bad? Maybe it’s a conversation. A sunrise. A moment of peace in your storm. Maybe it’s not loud or obvious. Maybe it’s more like a whisper. That’s okay. It’s still real.
The cross tells us that even the worst things can become doorways to redemption. So don’t lose heart. Don’t close your eyes. Ask God to give you vision to behold the beautiful.
The Bible doesn’t ignore what is bad about this life so that we might find what makes life so beautiful. Seek and find.
By Brandon Gilliam
