You hear
people talking about body image all the time but what does that really mean?
What is an image? How is our image created? Who is our image for? How is our
image formed?
When you
think of the word image, what comes to mind? For some of you it may be a physical
picture of something like a photograph. For others is may be a mental picture
of what something looks like on a warm summer day. Still for others it may
conjure up the notion of how a person is viewed by others or themselves.
As with any
complex topic, the answers are not straightforward. As I studied how the word image was used in
the Bible, I discovered a few more striking things.
First, the
word image was used in only two ways: to describe the image of God or to
describe an idol. It becomes apparent that the word image involves the two
ideas of representation and manifestation. Manifestation
means something that makes clear.
Biblically speaking, God’s image.
Representation means one that
is a portrayal of something else, like a statue or an idol. This is striking because images can quickly
become idols if we are not careful.
Second, in
Genesis 1:27 it says that we were “created in the image of God”. That is pretty
amazing in itself. What that means is that we are designed to reflect God’s
image just like the moon reflects the sun. That is our purpose.
Third, I
discovered in looking at the Hebrew root words, there are 7 different words
used to describe an idol but only one used to describe the image of God. A
reminder that while there may be many other things we can worship, there is
only one true God.
Fourth, all
of these Hebrew words used to describe an image were accompanied by words like
graven, molten, golden, fashioned, which implies that these images were created
by man and not by God. Don’t we do the same thing when we become
preoccupied with creating our own image and how we look to others, both
externally and internally?
Fifth, I
found that every reference to the word image in the Old Testament outside of
Genesis was used to describe an idol. Whereas, in the New Testament, the word
image is only used when talking about the image of God. We must be careful not
to let our image to become distorted. The
New Testament shares the good news of Jesus Christ and if we focus on Him, we
will be less likely to get off track.
So how does this relate to body image? God cares about
your physical bodies and how we treat them. God also cares about our image both
how we view ourselves and how we appear to others. Problems arise when we
disagree or take pride in or credit for God’s design. To despise our bodies or
our image is to despise the gift God has given us. If we are fearfully and wonderfully made like
Psalm 139 describes, then that leaves no room for disagreement with our
Creator’s design. Isaiah 64:8 says “We
are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” God has
taken great care to design and create you just like the potter does with his
clay. Everyone’s body and image can
bring glory and pleasure to God because we are created for His glory and His
pleasure.
Remember, our bodies are a
temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) so we need to ensure that they
bring glory and honor to God in the way we care for and view ourselves. Its
harder to despise yourself when you think of yourself as a masterpiece created
perfectly and intricately woven by God isn’t it? Beloved, dwell on the image of
you and your body as reflected by your Creator! Now that is something to smile
about!
