In a world where image is ‘everything,’ it’s easy to play the comparison game and come up wanting.
I’ve struggled with body image issues most of my life and the constant media presence of ‘the perfect’ body doesn’t help.
And focusing on image isn’t a bad thing – in fact, it can be remarkably freeing – if we have the proper frame of reference.
In Psalm 8, David (the psalmist) asks God, “What is man, that you are mindful of him; the son of man that you care for him?”
From the earliest pages of the Bible, we learn that humans are image bearers of God. In Psalm 8, two crucial ingredients add even more poignancy to the idea that we’re made in God’s image. Did you catch them?
What is man that:
- You are mindful of him
- You care for him
We are not only made in his image, but we are on his mind…and his heart. We take up space in the mind and heart of GOD!
Should this knowledge make a difference in the way we view ourselves and our fellow journeyers on the road of life?
If God has made us in his image, and if he thinks about us and cares for us, it shifts the balance of how we should view ourselves. We are wholly loved. Focusing on his definition of who we are, instead of playing the comparison game with one another, gives a strength, confidence, and compassion we can’t get otherwise.
Knowing we are fully loved – so much that we are on God’s mind and heart – should not only make a difference in how we face our own insecurities and heartaches but also how we treat other image bearers.
Compassion, kindness, and mercy should be our guides. Why? Because God himself put on flesh in the form of Jesus and had his image marred by abuse, nails, thorns, and our sin, to rescue the other image bearers of the world. His kids.
How does knowing you are on God’s mind and heart change the way you view yourself? The way you face your day?
Maybe take an opportunity to read Psalm 8 today to remind you of God’s love, presence, and view of you in the span of creation. It’s an encouraging read!
Thank you for this beautiful reminder, Pepper.
I once struggled with how I looked. One day, while in a prayer meeting, and older gentleman in our church came over to pray with me. During his prayer, he said,”Lord, shower how You see her.” What I saw and the verses that came to mind following that moment changed my life. I know my weight is more than my joints appreciate, and I am working on it, but I don’t loathe what I see in the mirror anymore. That is freedom.
I’m 64 and I still struggle with self image. Not so much anymore with what others think but what I think of myself. Ginny Yttrup has a wonderful book, Invisible, about a character that has to learn she was made in God’s image. In the book she had Imago Dei tattooed on her wrist. Which means image of God in Latin.
I’m thinking of having Image of God tattooed on my wrist except in Hebrew בצלם אלוהים.
Oh, how I’ve fought this – not so much appearance, but my worth. So very glad our loving heavenly Father has gifted us with His Word, every word of it filled with His love for us. And friends who manifest His love in the tenderest ways. Thank you for this lovely post, Pepper. {{{{{HUGZ}}}}}
Wrestled with inferiority a lot when I was younger, not so much now as I’ve been able to step back a little and see how God used my frailties and weaknesses to make me relatable to other people. Have also learned that if I’m going to accept other people for who and what they are, I need to do more of it for myself. Comparison still rears its ugly head, but not nearly as often. Thanks Pepper.
Precious! Thanks dear Pepper. <3