The #JesusGlow can’t be bought - but it is real

In her recent book Fully Alive, Elizabeth Oldfield described how her mum noticed an immediate, almost physical change in her appearance when she became a Christian. The transformation was so stark that it eventually led Oldfield’s mum to accept Jesus for herself.

It’s a phenomena that is not unusual. Many people report seeing a noticeable change in someone’s countenance after they’ve put their faith in Jesus. But for a generation of young people, the idea of a ‘Jesus Glow’ is being taken to a whole new level.

Finding your faith fuels

A new tribe of TikTokers are going viral with reels that showcase their physical transformation after turning to Jesus.

In the more extreme of these before-and-after videos, female goths and bodybuilders morph into (largely) conservative feminine beauties wearing prairie dresses and cute shoes. Aside from the concern that these videos are nothing more than conservative Christians promoting traditional gender stereotypes, many raise other red flags as well.

@verse..flow Jesus Glow is real #christian #plushie ♬ original sound - PrayPal - VerseFlow

Some influencers are advising young women on how to preserve this #jesusglow. Alongside helpful and seemingly wise advice such as watching your stress levels, investing in your prayer life and meditating the scriptures, there is also a strange mix of other #faithfuels that young women are advised to consume. Eat healthily, keep hydrated and make sure you exfoliate - otherwise, heaven forbid, your shine might be dulled!

When we see his glory, we’re transformed into his radiant image

None of the above are bad things to do, but they do conflate the spiritual process of sanctification – becoming like Jesus – with something else. Because, ultimately, fashion choices, face creams and filters will never give you the real ‘Jesus glow’. And suggesting that they might makes this new viral trend seem like nothing more that the latest manifestation of the prosperity gospel.  

Instead of promising that God will bless you with wealth, these new evangelists are instead promoting aesthetic transformation. It sounds like one more outworking of consumer Christianity. Faith dressed up as a beauty regime, serving people’s desire to be drop-dead gorgeous, rather than being a costly commitment to following the way of Jesus. But becoming a Christian does not guarantee you perfect skin and gorgeous hair.

An unknown glow

There is, however, a kernel of truth in this trend. In the Bible, it says that when Moses spoke with the Lord on Mount Sinai, his face shone brightly as he radiated the glory of the living God – so much so, the leaders were terrified at the sight (Exodus 24:30–32).

A similar description is used for Stephen in the New Testament – the Sanhedrin likened his face to that of an angel (Acts 6:15). But there’s a key difference between these encounters and the ‘Jesus glow’ alleged by the TikTok tribe of transformed people. The Bible tells us that Moses “did not know that the skin of his face shone” (Exodus 34:29). And Stephen did not self-identify as having an angelic aura.

Fashion choices, face creams and filters will never give you the real ‘Jesus glow’

The glow that comes from encountering God may not be something we can see in ourselves. But it will be blindingly obvious to those around us, as Elizabeth Oldfield’s experience attests to.

Moses’ encounter with God was arguably unique. It was initiated by the Lord to make a covenant with his people. But the underlying premise of being transformed when we look upon the face of the Lord remains true. When we see his glory, we’re transformed into his radiant image (2 Corinthians 3:18). And wonderfully, it’s a way in which we witness to the watching world – we’re called to “let our light shine before others, that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

The joy of Jesus

Let me tell you a true story from my own life. I’m wearing a baggy pale blue hospital gown. I’m on oxygen, linked up to monitors, machines and drips galore. I’ve been under general anaesthetic, so I’m not totally with it when a nurse walks over to me and bursts into tears. She’s read my notes and knows something of my chaotic and challenging medical history and was wondering how I could still radiate joy. I tell her it’s Jesus. Only Jesus.

So, even if you can’t see the ‘Jesus glow’ as you look in the mirror, you can trust that, as your faith illuminates your broken body in a broken world, others will encounter the living God. It won’t always be glamorous, but it will always be transformative.

Cardinal John Henry Newman summarised these very sentiments in a beautiful prayer. He asked that God would “penetrate and possess my being so utterly that my life may only be a radiance of yours. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come into contact with may feel your presence in my soul.”

This is my prayer. Will you make it yours too?