True, Good, and Beautiful

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What is it that draws in people of faith? The question has been asked for generations but it seems the answer changes with every generation. Every generation in some way is drawn to what is known in Christian understanding as the “transcendentals”. We know them more commonly as the True, the Good, and the Beautiful. These are more than just abstract concepts, they are the divine attributes that describe the very nature of God himself.

What is TRUE?

It’s the question Pilate, a Roman governor, asked of Jesus when Jesus was on trial before him. Jesus had told him, 

“Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” (John 18:37-38)

All truth is ultimately God’s truth. And if Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, as he claims in John 14:6, then truth is not merely an idea or set of values, it is a Person. When we align ourselves with Jesus we are not just recognizing truth as correct fact, but we are actively conforming our minds to reality as God knows it by connecting our intellect with reason. As followers of Jesus, therefore, we are encouraged to understand the world as God created it. Truth has nothing to do with how we feel about it and the better we know Jesus, the more deeply we’ll understand truth. 

Truth requires alignment and allegiance. Before Jesus was crucified, he went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray asking, God the Father,

"Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”

John 17:17

Jesus’ prayer for every one of his followers is that we would know the truth. And by knowing the truth, we would be free.

John 8:32

Taste and see that the Lord is GOOD

It’s been said that goodness is not only the moral perfection of God, but also the attractiveness of God. Whatever is deemed worthy of value, love, and desire is good. In faith practices modelled by followers of Jesus, moral teachings centred on love for God and neighbor are foundational and reflect God’s goodness. God, of course, being the source of all goodness. 

In Mark’s Gospel, a man ran up and knelt before Jesus and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” (Mark 10:17-18)

On the surface, this can seem confusing. But this was Jesus’ point: God is the sole source, standard, and definition of absolute, moral perfection. Anything good you see in this world belongs to God and has God as its source. 

Goodness inspires right moral action but it is not merely about following rules. It is more deeply about aligning our hearts and our wills with God’s purposes.

To gaze upon the BEAUTY

Beauty inspires awe. It is the combination of truth and goodness in all their splendor. One important note is that it is not subjective like good taste in fashion and a sense of humor. Rather it is an objective reality that evokes wonder, delight, and adoration. God is beautiful in his holiness. His character, comprised of attributes like mercy and grace, is the standard of true beauty. Creation and redemption highlight God’s beauty and are represented in his glory. 

This should move us beyond our naval-gazing selves and bring us to a deeper sense of joy and connection to God himself. 

“One thing I ask from the Lord,

this only do I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”

(Psalm 27:4)

The Generations

In order to make my point regarding the Transcendentals through the generations, I am quoting an excerpt from a sermon by Pastor Tyler Staton in Portland, OR.

He says this: 

There's been a noticeable divide between Bible churches and Holy Spirit churches. This is what we mean, there are certain churches that major on teaching the Bible thoughtfully, intellectually, and exegetically, but the experience of the Holy Spirit is varying degrees of absent.

On the other hand, there are churches that major on ecstatic experience, yet tend to diminish the Bible to a script for spiritual pep talks.

But of course, the kingdom of God is not an either/or kingdom. It's a both/and kingdom.

The Bible AND the Holy Spirit, thinking AND feeling, teaching AND experiencing, preaching the gospel AND signs and wonders, exegeting the text AND offering a word of prophecy, God’s presence through suffering, AND miraculous deliverance from suffering. Shaped slowly over time by committed spiritual practice, AND reshaped in a moment through supernatural spiritual experience.

See, for every generation there has been a greater emphasis on one of the Transcendentals depending on their current cultural moment. “God spoke in each generation in that generation’s ways.” (Scot McKnight) So the prayer is, “Lord, may you do so today for today’s generation!” 

For older generations, like the Boomers, the emphasis was on truth. The idea was: “win my mind and then you could have my heart”. This was when The Case for Christ, apologetics, and real answers to tough questions ruled the day.

Later generations were not so concerned about truth in the same way since, it’s all relative. My truth, your truth, etc. Gen X and elder Millennials would say, “don’t tell me something true. Tell me something good. Show me that this faith actually works.” This is why so many engaged in activism, good works, social justice, and missions.

The most recent generations, younger Millennials and Gen Z, often ask “what is beautiful?”. They are shifting away from the seeker-friendly, consumer-driven, overly polished, and purely superficial manifestations of faith. Instead, they long for authenticity, relational depth, and a re-enchantment with the world. What’s fascinating about this, is that it is bringing them right back to the truth that their forefathers - specifically the Boomer generation, first resonated with.

The beauty of authenticity in a cultural moment run by AI begs for a realignment with truth. A full circle moment. All within just a few generations. We see the pull towards truth, then the pull towards goodness, then the pull towards beauty, finally culminating to a search for truth all over again. 

We can’t dismiss either angle. The reality is we are created for all three. Just as the Trinity is three in one. Just as God’s image-bearers we are mind, soul, and spirit.

We need truth, goodness, and beauty in our lives.

Our invitation is what Paul says to the church in Philipi which encompasses all three Transcendentals. 

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Philippians 4:8

What’s in the Ears

This is the part where I share a song or podcast I’m currently into. In honor of the topic, I am recommending a book, which I listened to on Spotify, called Theo of Golden by Allen Levi. It’s a recently published novel that captures truth, goodness, and beauty in a wonderfully compelling way. Let me know if you check it out. 

If this stirred something in you, share this post with a friend or drop a comment below. I’d love to hear what small step you’re taking towards the flourishing life today! And don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss a thing.