The 40-Day Mirror Fast: Focusing Your Eyes on Jesus and Off Your Appearanceნიმუში

You Didn’t Mess Up Your Body

I work with many women who have a hard time believing that God isn't disappointed in their bodies. They can accept that God made their bodies good. That perhaps, when he put them in their mother's wombs, their bodies were acceptable. But they worry they've messed their bodies up. They feel that there has been irreparable damage and that God is mad at them for it. It's as if God is waiting for them to get in shape or "correct" their physical appearance before he can accept or even use them for his service.

But, friend. That's not in the Bible.

As we read yesterday, 1 Samuel 16:7 tells us that God doesn't look at us like humans do. He's looking at our hearts.

And the tragic news is that our hearts are far more messed up than our bodies ever could be. Our hearts are cesspools of unholy thoughts. Scripture tells us that we fool ourselves if we believe otherwise (Jeremiah 17:9).

Only by God's grace can we have our hearts redeemed. Only by God's grace can he take our hardened, sin-calloused hearts and turn them into soft hearts dedicated to God's service. We all have sinned and fallen short. But, as Tim Keller says, if God can take care of my biggest problem—my sin problem—there's nothing else he can't handle. If he can redeem my life, he can certainly redeem my body.

God's not mad at you for aging, having cellulite, or not having six-pack abs. These are culture's standards of beauty, not God's. Scripture is clear that we need to have our minds renewed; otherwise, the temptation to follow culture (instead of Jesus) will be great.