Body Image or God's Image

With the beginning of the new year you see all sorts of crazy posts, magazines, commercials and ads out there for what you should be doing. Things like "getting healthy" with the latest medications, plastic surgery or whatever. Or "becoming the best you" with this diet or that gym.

Some ads try to shame you. They make it seem like if you don't come to their gym you're doing everything wrong. Then they offer a little reward because if you do then you'll get everything you want out of life. You'll land that job, finally find your true love and have more friends all because you look good.

Some ads are sneaky and they appeal to those insecurities we all have but try to hide. You'll feel better. You'll look better. You'll have more confidence, more energy, more whatever it is that you're looking for in 2018. You want it they offer you the solution and all you have to do is buy their product.

Others berate you for not doing it right all along then give you the opportunity to redeem yourself. They make you want to hate yourself then try to make it all better by giving you the solution to learning to liking yourself again.

Some are diets, some are exercise plans. Some use models who may or may not be airbrushed or edited but they all have one thing in common. They want to "fix" you, solve your body image issues so you can look at yourself and be happy. Now don't get me wrong, being healthy, being active, liking what you see when you look in the mirror, none of that is bad.

However I just have one question. Whose image were you made in?

Genesis 1: 27 says "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."

We were made it God's own image. So why do we get so wrapped up, obsessed even, with our body image? Haven't we gotten so far away from the truth? Friends we should take care of our bodies, they're the temples of the Holy Spirit after all, but we were also created in the image of God. God! His image! Can you imagine anything more beautiful or amazing then that?

So let's take a different focus this year. That exercise plan you came up with? That new diet you want to try? That goal on the scale you've set? Great. Do it, try it, meet it. But through it all remember that your body image is not what's most important in your life. What you see in the mirror is not what defines you. Who you belong to is what matters most. And whose image you were made in is what you should keep in mind every time you look in the mirror.