The True, The Good
and the Beautiful
We are all in pursuit of something. For some, it’s happiness; for others, security, success, or recognition. But deep down, what our hearts truly long for are goodness, truth, and beauty.
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What does it mean to be good?
How do we measure it? Is it defined by the majority? Is it measured by personal fulfillment?
The good of anything is found in its ability to accomplish what it was created for, to realize its purpose for existence as intended by its Maker. Only in this realization can something truly be called “good.”
“The good” is possible only in the light of truth.
How do you recognize truth?
Is it the same as what is useful or what I want to be true?
Truth is often defined today by personal preference or popular consensus or what ‘feels’ true. But truth exists outside of us, independent of our opinions and emotions. It is a reflection of what is real: it corresponds to reality, to what can be demonstrated. It is something we can all search for and know.
And where you find “truth” and “goodness,” there you will find beauty.
How do you judge beauty?
Is it entirely in the eye of the beholder? Are there no standards beyond ‘I like it’?
Beauty is the visible expression of “truth” and “goodness” and points back to them. Whether in nature or in art, beauty goes beyond words and touches us at the level of the soul. It calls out to us, entreats us, invites us to spend time with it. It awakens in us desire, consoles us with harmony, and transports us out of the mundane, the ugly, the painful.
Why Consider the Good, the True and the Beautiful?
...Because we were created for them.
God made us with the ability to recognize and desire goodness, truth, and beauty—in our reason, our conscience, and our loves. Though we often chase happiness elsewhere, these are the only things we never tire of, because they are what we were made for.
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...Because we long for what is real.
In today’s world, truth, beauty, and goodness are often treated as personal preferences. Yet something within us longs for more—something beyond opinion. We want the genuine article: real goodness, actual truth, true beauty.
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...Because they lead us to God.
God is not only good, true, and beautiful—He is the very source of all three. Anything in this world that reflects these qualities does so because it reflects its Maker. And we know God most fully in His Son, Jesus Christ, who embodies goodness, truth, and beauty in their fullness.