Defined by God, Not the World
My sister, whom I love, sent this poem recently.
You are not your age,
Nor the size of clothes you wear,
You are not a weight,
Or the colour of your hair.
You are not your name,
Or the dimples in your cheeks,
You are all the books you read,
And all the words you speak,
You are your croaky morning voice,
And the smiles you try to hide,
You're the sweetness in your laughter,
And every tear you've cried,
You're the songs you sing so loudly,
When you know you're all alone,
You're the places that you've been to,
And the one that you call home,
You're the things that you believe in,
And the people that you love,
You're the photos in your bedroom,
And the future you dream of,
You're made of so much beauty,
But it seems that you forgot,
When you decided that you were defined,
By all the things you're not.—Not, by Erin Hanson
The very premise of defining ourselves by things we are not is counter to the precious words of the Bible. It is exactly how we operate when we believe the lies we are not good enough, not good looking, thin enough, smart enough, etc. Whatever our choice poison of lies, comparing oneself to the worlds standards will always end in loss.
As christians, our bar should be the Lord and being discipled by Him—not the worlds ideals of beauty or wisdom. His wisdom is true and will remain beyond our years here on earth—it comes from bowing before our great King and obeying our Maker. To obey Him is to believe and act on His word.
Ephesians describes all the things we actually are—our true identity. We are chosen, forgiven, loved, set apart, and image bearers. I needed a real heart check recently. When did I start believing my worth came from the number on the scale?
I am writing to the sisters and brothers struggling with views of themselves and what the world wants to call “body image.” My take on this comes from nearly a lifetime spent on diets, with illnesses and so on and so forth. My body has swung the 100 lb. pendulum in the last 12 years. I’ve been a size 6 and a size 18 (and obviously everything in between). But at the core of it all, at my lowest weight (and my highest) I wasn’t 100% ready to lean on who I was in Christ—the weight, the dress size defined me.
When do we take a stand against spoon fed ideals the culture screams and instead turn to God’s protocol for healthy earthly bodies? My husband said something to me the other day after struggling with additional weight gain and its emotional toll, “Amanda, what if you never lost a pound for the rest of your life… would God be enough?” I cried and needed that heart check. No one had ever spoken those exact words to me before, but it certainly put into question where my hope and worth was coming from.
Is your hope in the scale or in a certain dress size?
I remember an older relative struggling with her appearance. The years I knew her before she went to heaven—though there were many fun-loving and sweet memories—marked me when she made negative comments about her size or weight. She too, struggled to lose weight and could, in turn, gain it quickly. She loved the Lord. But certainly the evil lies continued to pry and tear at her joy. I remember looking at photographs with her (from thirty years prior), specifically how much she berated her past self, only to feel that later in life she was, even then, too hateful of her younger, more youthful and slender, appearance.
Here is some truth…
We are not defined by the clothes we wear, the house we live in, the car we drive, our job or position, the size of our jeans, the color of hair (if we still have it), the number of children we have (or do not have), the number of friends (in real life or on social media). We are chosen. We are loved. We are forgiven. We are saints.
We are not stamped by the traumatic things that occur. Nor the naysayers, bullies, and those who aim to tear others down with their actions and words. We are God’s beautiful creation. We are created to hold the Bible close and keep God’s words written on our hearts to proclaim with ease, “This is who I am.”
Beautiful to God.
Chosen for spreading love.
Set apart for His kingdom.
More precious than rubies.
More beautiful than pearls.
Adorned with the love of Christ.
Covered in his blood.
Precious, loved, and adored by the Mighty King of Kings.
Today, let’s fight against the forces of evil and proclaim our true worth and magnificence. You and I are created in God’s image! Embrace who He made you to be and live today fully loved!
