Your body is a temple

How do you feel about your body? Has anyone ever asked you that question?

Whether you look like a fashion model or a sumo wrestler, your body image is so important. Your body image is the way you think and feel about your body. You may find it ugly or beautiful, huge or too skinny.

So, what do you think about your body? How do you feel about it?

Does the Bible say anything about our bodies? Does God care about how we see ourselves?

The answer is 100% yes. Here are a few Bible verses that might help you change the way you see and feel about yourself:

• God created you in His image (Genesis 1:27). 
• He calls you His work of art (Psalm 139:14).
• He calls your body the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). 
• God wants you to be whole—body, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). 

So what’s the problem? There are four classic reasons why distorted body images have become an epidemic:

1. Most women and some men compare their bodies to unrealistic images in magazines that have been airbrushed to perfection.
2. The accuser of the saints loves to condemn us and tell us that we are a mistake. 
3. Children in schoolyards can be very verbally abusive. 
4. Some parents are overly critical of looks and body size. 

Isn’t it time for you to re-evaluate your body image? Your body is so important to God; He wants you to love it and care for it. Your body is valuable and sacred.

Would you pray with me and ask the Holy Spirit to transform your body image? “Dear Jesus, please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Help me see myself and my body as a unique gift from God. Lord, help me be confident in myself and accepting of others. May I not judge others based on looks but on character and integrity. Amen.” 

Remember, you are a work of art, and you’ve been designed to do miraculous things because you’re a miracle. 

Paul Marc Goulet