“13 For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.” (Psalm 139:13-16)
I know someone who seriously dislikes having their picture taken. When asked why, the answer has to do with "not liking how I look." It's not up for discussion; it just is. No pictures. Period.
When you look in a mirror, are you happy with what you see? Residual self image can be a hard thing to overcome. I used to weigh 220 pounds, and I was accustomed to seeing a large man in the mirror. After losing thirty to forty pounds, I have a hard time not seeing the large reflection. It's a challenge to overcome the way we are used to seeing ourselves.
When you look in a mirror, are you happy with what you see? Residual self image can be a hard thing to overcome. I used to weigh 220 pounds, and I was accustomed to seeing a large man in the mirror. After losing thirty to forty pounds, I have a hard time not seeing the large reflection. It's a challenge to overcome the way we are used to seeing ourselves.
And like I hinted at yesterday, it's even harder to overcome the self image that is given to us by others. The echoes of names and labels can stay with us even longer than the echoes of physical images (who we used to be, how we used to look.) It's even harder if those self images are handed out on behalf of those who represent God.
In reading Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman, I was struck by a passage where he talks about the dinner Jesus has in Simon the Pharisee's house. A woman from the community--a woman labeled "sinner"--comes into the house, washes Jesus' feet with her tears and her hair. Idleman writes, "...maybe it wasn't what Jesus taught. Maybe it was the way he looked at her. His eyes communicated her value and worth. She wasn't just a 'sinner' to him; she was a beloved daughter. And perhaps when Jesus finished teaching she knew God loved her and hadn't given up on her, even if everyone else had."
So when you look into a soul mirror or a spiritual mirror, do you like what you see? Do you see only the brokenness of life, only hurt and regret and pain and "sinner"? Or do you see the "Imago Dei" the image of God, Beloved son, Beloved daughter.
“Oh you look so beautiful tonight.” Can you imagine God speaking those words to you? Try it. Try it, because God is speaking those words to you right now. “You look so beautiful tonight because you are my unique creation: fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Is there something that holds you back from fully accepting God’s love for you? Is there something that was said to you that holds you back from feeling the depths of God’s love? Let it go! In the name of love let it go! You are fearfully and wonderfully made—even though you make mistakes, because we ALL make mistakes—you are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are a people who embrace the fullness of God’s grace—the core of which is this: “Blessings aren’t just for the ones who kneel…luckily.”
Is there something that holds you back from fully accepting God’s love for you? Is there something that was said to you that holds you back from feeling the depths of God’s love? Let it go! In the name of love let it go! You are fearfully and wonderfully made—even though you make mistakes, because we ALL make mistakes—you are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are a people who embrace the fullness of God’s grace—the core of which is this: “Blessings aren’t just for the ones who kneel…luckily.”
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