In whose image - part 2

People all around us are profoundly dissatisfied with how they look and are striving for an unattainable goal, thinking that when they reach it they will be secure, satisfied and significant.  So what is the solution?

We need to profoundly change how we view our bodies and our physical appearance, we need to transform our minds.  Romans 12:2 says “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”, which is precisely what we need to do.  We need to throw off the myths of worldly thinking and transform our minds with the truths of God.  

So what does a transformed mind look like?

Firstly, a transformed mind recognises that we are made to bear the image of God.  Let’s go back to the beginning and look to Genesis and chapter 1v27, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
This verse reminds us that you and I are created in the image of God.  It elevates how we view ourselves and what we are here for.  It profoundly changes our purpose.  No longer am I a mannequin for the latest fashion instead I am an image bearer for the living God.  My purpose is to reflect His image to the world.
This should be my focus as I think about how I look and how others perceive me.  Do I reflect God’s image?  When I stress over my outfit for that party, am I reflecting my God-given desire to enjoy beauty or am I more concerned that I might not fit in if I’m wearing the wrong outfit?  When my face starts to age, do I lament the laughter lines around my eyes and spend, spend, spend trying to hide the effects of age or do I celebrate the wisdom and memories displayed for all to see?  I should be striving to show the world that I have been made in the image of God through my attitude to how I look.

Secondly, a transformed mind celebrates diversity rather than striving for uniformity because it knows we are uniquely made by God.  We all know God created us.  But how often do we reflect on the fact that God created us unique and he knew exactly how he wanted us to be.   Psalm 139v1-4, 13-16 capture this truth. It says, “You have examined my heart and know everything about me.  You know when I sit down or stand up.  You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.  You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.  You know everything I do.  You know what I am going to say even before I say it.
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 marvellous—how well I know it.  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.  You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

This Psalm teaches us that none of us are an accident.  Long before our parents had even though about us, God knew what our life would be like and what we would look like.   But he didn’t just make us or know what we would look like.   Did you hear the words which described how he made us?  “Wonderfully and marvelous”, which is amazing.  So God created me to look how I look and he is pretty pleased with that, which I think is pretty liberating.  It means God loves unique diversity in his creation and he takes great joy in this diversity.  It means I don’t need to worry that I don’t look the way the models and celebrities look because that was not how God wanted me to look.  It means I can be confident in how I look, instead of feeling I need to look different.  Instead of feeling like God made a mistake I can be content in how I look because I am unique and no-one else looks like me! 

Thirdly, we need to see that our satisfaction, significance and security comes from being in Christ.  As Christians we have entered into a new relationship and been given a new identity because we put our faith in Jesus, who died for us.  It is only through that relationship what we can truly find satisfaction, significance and security.  Ephesians 2v4-10 how being in Christ does this.  Let’s read it, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Our significance is demonstrated in how God ‘made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.’  God loves you enough not to leave you facing his punishment.  No one can love us any better, any more, than Jesus, who gave up heaven and experienced hell for his people.  If you are trusting Jesus, that’s the value God places on your head.  It’s not image that makes us valuable.  It’s God choosing to love us.

Our satisfaction comes from the fact God has created us to do good works.  Each day we can know that God has useful work for us, a part to play in his eternal plan for this world.  And we can know that we are just where we need to be.  Our satisfaction doesn’t come from having the right look and fitting in.  And there is an even better promise.  God has saved us for a new world which has nothing dissatisfying in it.  

And how can we be confident in this relationship with Christ?  How can we be sure that it will give us all we crave.  Look at verse 6, “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus”.  Do you notice this is in the past tense?  He has raised us and he has seated us.  We have security because God has done it all so we know that what he promises will be true.  

So what is the solution for a world obsessed with image filled with people dissatisfied with how they look and are striving for an unattainable goal, thinking that when they reach it they will be secure, satisfied and significant.  A relationship with Jesus and a transformed mind.