Over the last several months, I’ve spent a lot of my time ruminating on aesthetics. This particular branch of philosophy focuses on the nature of beauty and taste. Society usually thinks of beauty in terms of physical looks and attraction, and only in the context of what that beauty can do for it. But aesthetics recognizes beauty for what it truly is, a good unto itself.

I find aestheticism to be an easy way to communicate to my children about the things of God. Latin chant, holy architecture, a brilliant sunset, the green canopy. All of these things are beautiful in and of themselves, sharing a good that is not consumed, but savored and evergreen. To paraphrase the poem by Cecil Francis Alexander, all things bright and beautiful are the things made by God.

This makes a clear contrast with the things of evil: darkness, fear, oppression. Things of an evil or dark nature drag us down or cause us to shrink inwardly. An unmistakeable marker, the dark things in life destroy beauty and leave us feeling sad.

Perhaps the greatest good thing in the world is the human person. We, hopefully, want to be good ourselves, and for our children to be good. It’s why we spend nearly every minute of every day working to form them into good people. But being good isn’t just saying no to yourself. It’s choosing to engage with the bright and beautiful. What’s the point of life if it’s filled with emptiness, sadness, and a sense of meaninglessness? Joy is not the absence of sadness, it’s meaningful sorrow as we long for the good things, for justice, for mercy, and for reconciliation.

Why we naturally gravitate to things that are not bright and beautiful is a paradox. We are made in God’s image and likeness, and invited into relationship with Him. Indeed, His passion, death, and resurrection were not for His edification, but done out of a love that is laser focused on enabling us to live a life centered in Him.

The truth is, among all the bright and beautiful things God has made, we are intended to be one of them. We get to choose, in ways big and small, whether we will take our place among the good things, or if we reject Goodness itself. Our beauty is core to our nature and true to our being, if we are willing to get out of the way and share our goodness with the world in which we live.