Beauty & the Beast

I went to see this movie with some great friends last weekend. I have seen this movie before, but last weekend I saw it with fresh eyes. I never connected with this movie before, at least not like Cinderella or Tangled. (I really wanted to go to see the Tangled short before the movie. Ohhh...Maximus...your crazy!)
I saw that love isn't based on what the other looks like on the outside, but the condition of the heart. Belle wasn't attracted to the Beast until she saw what he could be on the inside. She said a few times, "He's not like that." or "He's different now." It's amazing how true love can change a person! Unfortunately it's only a movie.
In real life the only love that brings real and lasting change is God's love. Only He can truly love unconditionally! That's because He IS love! It's His very nature.
"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."
 -1 John 4:16 NIV
When we know and rely on the love God has for us, we become more like Him, more of the creation He planned for us to be. Like the Beast, who responded to Belle's love for him, we need to respond to God's love for us and let it change who we are, what we think and how we act. As our thoughts, words and actions become like God's(selfless, pure, honest, etc), we begin to love like God and that affects our relationships with those around us. More Beauty & less Beast!