Esther

By Alex Florez

I have two daughters, and I believe that my girls are the most beautiful creatures that have ever breathed air. As their dad, it’s my prerogative to declare that there is nothing in all of creation so grand as the beauty of my baby girls.

I’m entitled to those convictions as their father, but I recognize that the rest of the world will draw their own conclusions. Sadly, most people who encounter my girls won’t have time to get to know them. Whether explicitly or tacitly, their looks will determine whether the eye of each beholder deems them worthy or unworthy.

In the book of Esther, we see that even some 2,500 years ago females were likely to be discounted or elevated based on the measure of external beauty they possessed. Esther herself was one of a select group of “beautiful young virgins” who were to be groomed for concubinage based on their age and looks.

We read that “Esther gained favor in the eyes of everyone who saw her” (Esther 2:15). There is no evidence in the beginning of the story that she was favored because of her character or because she was good at math or because she was captain of her volleyball team. All we learn is that everyone who laid eyes on her thought she was very pretty.

While it is true that Esther received favor based on her beauty alone, she was immortalized because of her fearlessness, determination, and commitment to her family and community. We remember her for saying “If I perish, I perish” because advocating for her people was more important to her than her own life (Esther 4:16).

As the story unfolds, the beautiful maiden became a fiercely loyal woman; the lovely young girl blossomed into an ambassador for justice. And we honor Esther today, not because of her looks, but because her selflessness and her convictions changed the trajectory of God’s people. Every spring, our Jewish brothers and sisters celebrate Purim, an annual observance of the time “when their sorrow was turned into rejoicing and their mourning into a holiday…days of feasting, rejoicing and sending gifts to one another and to the poor” because of Esther’s courage (Esther 9:22).

With our Christocentric understanding of Scripture, Esther’s example ultimately serves as a harbinger of what God had in store all along for His people: to transform lives through Jesus, who would replace condemnation with salvation and cast out fear with freedom.

My daughters still live in a world that will often lionize or disregard them based on appearance. But reading about the life of Queen Esther reminds me that God loves selflessness. He prizes integrity. He honors virtue. These traits, which I so value in my own girls’ lives, can make the difference between life and death. As such, I rest knowing that even if my girls are judged initially for their looks, their character and commitment to Jesus have eternal value in the loving hands of their Father in heaven.