“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1 & 2
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Galatians 5:22 & 23
I remember the day that we found out our teams at training camp. I looked around at the women I would be spending the majority of the next year with and while I was so excited, I felt a twinge of disappointment. Not because of the character of these women, but rather because of the beauty and size of them. They were all tall, thin, gorgeous women. And I felt a bit inferior.
I HATE the way society has forced us to believe that being skinny and beautiful makes you elite. I also hate that we have allowed society to tell us WHAT is beautiful.
This has been looming over me heavily since we left for the race. I went from living alone to having 6 beautiful roommates all in ONE room with me. We all get ready together in the mornings and it has proven difficult to not find myself looking around the room comparing myself to those that surround me.
As I thought about this this morning, I began to pray that God would change the way I view myself, especially against others. Before long, I could hear Him so clearly answering my prayer by teaching me a new way to think.
We have spent a lot of time amongst our team and within the church services talking about our gifts and how to use them to glorify Christ. I started thinking about this in the sense of using my gifts to further the Kingdom. Isn’t that why we are here anyway? He put us on Earth to bring Him glory. Not for anything else.
When I think of what my role is here, I quickly realize that the way that I look or how I see myself in comparison to those around me, takes away from what I’m here to do in the first place. Of course, we should take care of our bodies, as they are the temples/vessels God gave us to use while here, but they do not define us. I have so much more to offer than a skinny body. I am kind, I am thoughtful, I am good with children. I connect with others well, I am a decent-ish writer, and I love God with all that I am. These are the things that matter. These are the gifts that God will use to bring others to Him.
So while I work at improving my temple, I won’t forget that what matters to God, is that I produce good fruit. That even if my body isn’t what the world thinks it should be, if I am exuding love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If I am offering up my body as a living sacrifice, and doing my job to point others to Christ, I am serving Him well. When I get to Heaven, the body I possessed on earth will fade away, and I’ll receive a new one. I won’t hear “well done, my good and faithful servant” if I am so distracted with how I look that I forget what really matters.
Besides, when He looks at me, He sees perfection. He thinks I am beautiful and He loves me more than I can wrap my head around. My God defines me, not my mirror.
I pray that you feel beautiful today, and everyday. I pray we all start to see ourselves the way God sees us. It is then that we can truly serve Him well and put our focus on furthering His Kingdom and not our own.
