Loving Ourselves the Way the Lord Loves Us

We live in a world of comparison. Comparison of money, possessions, intelligence, looks, and so much more. I want to focus on body image tonight and how our view of our bodies should be biblical.

I had been praying a lot about this subject and then had more than 1 more conversation in different settings about this subject reaffirming that this was a topic needing to be discussed.

Lay the foundation of how we were created.

Genesis 1:26–27 “Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

Genesis 1:31 “Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.”

Psalm 139:13–14 “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.”

Deuteronomy 32:4 “He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!”

God created us in His image. The Creator of the universe, the almighty, all-knowing, and all-powerful Father, is perfect. He created us to reflect His image. He created us in a remarkable and wonderful way. He knit us together in our mothers’ wombs before we were born. Psalm 139 reminds us of how much the Father cares for us in the way He created us. Our bodies, our minds, and our personalities are all from God. They are not an accident. God designed us exactly as we are—what we view as flaws are precious in His eyes. His work was perfect in creating us.

So why do we doubt his creation? Why do we become consumed with our outward appearance to others.

Most people associate body image issues with primarily women

women fixate on their looks (is my face clear, do I look pretty enough, I don't fit into the clothes I used to, I wish I looked like her, etc. Wanting to change things you see in order to feel more happy, liked or accepted?Attempting to hide certain things?). Society has painted this “perfect picture” of what a woman should look like and if we do not fit the image, we began to degrade ourselves.

but I think it applies to men just as easily.

men compare their height, their looks, their muscle tone, comparing themselves to the “picture perfect athletic” actor that is plastered across television screens and feeling as though they are “not man enough” if they do not meet this standard of society

We as a society focus so much on the outward appearance of our heart but that is not what God focuses on.

1 Samuel 16:7 “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.””

This verse is from the story where the prophet Samuel is sent by God to anoint the next king of Israel. He goes to the house of Jesse, and when he sees Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab, he’s immediately impressed—probably because Eliab looked strong, tall, and king-like. But God tells Samuel not to judge based on outward appearance—because that’s not how God chooses leaders. God is looking at something deeper: the heart, character, and faith of a person. Eventually, God chooses the youngest son, David, who wasn’t even invited to the lineup at first—he was out tending sheep. David didn’t look like a king, but God saw his heart.

These are simply that, STANDARDS OF SOCIETY!! Our outward appearance is not what gets us into heaven, but rather it's the matter of our heart. We get caught up in comparison and it tears us apart.

Proverbs 14:30 A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

As many of us know, the world is broken and that's due to the enemy. John 10:10 tells us “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.” He does that with temptations and sin, but also by attacking our images and self worth.

We see the first sign of body shame in Genesis, just a few chapters after God makes his perfect creation.

Genesis 3:6–11 “The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked.

Satan the deceiver, the one who lies, led them astray and in doing so, caused them to feel shame and guilt. Before their rebellion against God, there was no shame. (Genesis 2:25). “The man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed” The Lord did not create them to cover their bodies, but with the introduction of sin, the enemy warped what God had created as God and used it to tear down Adam and Eve. The introduction of sin led to this self awareness of the body and this self degradation that leads to shame and comparison.

The enemy seeks to separate us from God. He knows how to keep us from experiencing peace, oneness, unity with the Lord and with each other. He does this to keep us in the lies. If he can keep us believing that we are not enough, that we will never be enough, that we will never look like this person, that we will never compare to them, then he has a hook within us. When his hook is in, it is so easy to spiral and become consumed in these negative thoughts. If he can bring shame to us, then he can cause us to run and hide from the Lord just as Adam and Eve did.

Talk about personal experience with body image struggles-being a bigger girl in high school, never feeling pretty enough, becoming depressed in college, loosing a ton of weight but not healthy, being praised for my eating disorder because I “looked amazing”. led to a battle in my mind of whether I was enough just as Josie, or if my new found body/looks is what made me enough for others. Coming to the other side of that. Support, friendship, prayer, having to retrain the mind in my approach to food/healthy activities. Adjusting to my body today. I’m tremendously grateful for my struggles with food and body image because God, in his great mercy, used them to bring me to the end of myself.

Understanding “theology of the body”: Sarx vs Soma explain the background info

Sarx: the flesh, our sinful nature, wants brokenness, darkness, will not fulfill us

Soma: body, good, beautiful, God made the Soma and called it “much goodness”

Why they’re different? We constantly hear that the flesh is bad and automatically take it as our “body”-hunger, sleep, etc. we think it’s weakness. We think if we subdue the sarx (hunger) then we are strong.The Somas need for food/sleep/water/etc is good. We get these confused all the time and think we are suppressing the flesh. God created your soma and all of its glory.

The Sarc and Soma were so different in the past and the dissection was easily understood.

Ephesians 5:29 “No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church.” We don't see specific cases of “body hate” in the Bible and believers of body theology believe it was because this separation of soma and sarx

2.) the body (soma) really matters to god-it is often preached that the body doesn’t matter, it is the soul that matters cause that’s what goes to heaven. This is wrong! The body matters a lot to God. Jesus came in body to this world because his death/crucifixtion/restriction is crucial to faith. When Jesus arrives as the new Adam, he re-centers the body image conversation on the restored image of God. We justify harming/muting the need of our bodies because we think of it just as a flesh suit and just focus on the soul. The body, mind and soul all matter to God.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”

So how do we combat body image struggles? How do we Love ourselves the way the Lord loves us?

We have to recognize the root of where our struggle comes from? For me, there was a sense of pride and making an idol out of myself and my body. I was placing myself above the Lord and not recognizing the truth that he spoke over me. I had to die to myself in order to begin to heal from this disorder that had consumed my life. We must love ourselves the way God loves us, we need to recognize our inherent worth as God's creation and extend that love to ourselves, just as He does.This means practicing self-compassion, acknowledging our strengths and weaknesses, and caring for our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. It also involves understanding that God's love is unconditional and not based on our performance. To love ourselves the way God loves us, we need to recognize our inherent worth as God's creation and extend that love to ourselves, just as He does. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8

God’s love is not based on performance. Loving yourself means letting go of unrealistic expectations, forgiving yourself for past mistakes, and receiving God’s grace.

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” – 1 John 3:1

You can’t pour from an empty cup. Let God’s love fill your heart, and you’ll naturally begin to love yourself and others more deeply.

questions for discussion:

How do you think your self-image was shaped—by family, friends, culture, or media?

What are some ways society’s standards for beauty conflict with God’s perspective?

How do you balance caring for your body while not obsessing over your appearance?

How can we encourage one another to see ourselves the way God sees us?