By F. D. Adkins
A reflection on the Truth found in Genesis 1:27…
I have to admit that I have often struggled with self-image. When I was around twelve years old, my grandmother on my dad’s side commented that I was getting the battle of the bulge. Now, I have never struggled with weight. Aside from my pregnancies, I have always hovered around a hundred pounds. However, even though I have never struggled with weight, I have never had a flat stomach. Now, when my grandmother pointed this out, she did not mean any harm. She made the same comments regarding herself and was always concerned with having a perfect complexion.
Nonetheless, that one particular remark about my stomach became engrained in my mind. Every time I looked in the mirror, my focus was on that little bulge in my lower belly. And if I am honest, from time to time, I still struggle with this notion that I need to have a flat stomach, which I have never had nor ever will because that is not the shape of my body.
As I thought about my verse to memorize for this past week, I had to self-assess. Genesis 1:27 informs us that God created us in His image.
“And so God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” Genesis 1:27 KJV
As we read on, chapter two describes God forming Adam and Eve. We are told how God made Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed air into him (Genesis 2:7 KJV). We are told how God took one of Adam’s ribs and created Eve (Genesis 2:21-22 KJV). We are not told of Adam’s stature, his hair color, or if he had broad shoulders. We are not told if Eve had washboard abs, a thin waistline, or skin that our society would label as a perfect complexion.
So, as much as I know this truth, why do I still find myself focusing on that little pooch in my stomach? Because that is what the enemy wants. He does not want me to focus on the Truth: that I am a masterpiece created by the hand of God, created in the image of my Heavenly Father.
And friend, so are you! Each of us is a specially hand-crafted one-of-a-kind created by God in the image of God.
Now these designs that God has given us should be cared for. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul explains, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (KJV). Paul refers to our bodies as temples because as believers, the Holy Spirit lives within us. With that truth in mind added to the knowledge that each of us is a work of art created by God, we should desire to maintain our bodies and keep ourselves healthy.
I aspire to eat healthy foods daily. (I say, aspire because I falter when it comes to eating trail mix while I write. I messed up one and looked at the serving size. Come to find out, I may be eating around eight times the suggested serving size… but really, a quarter of a cup? I would barely get a sentence written.) I also exercise regularly 5 mornings per week and have done so for about ten years now. But my focus in doing so should not be to achieve the body shape that the world has deemed as perfect or ideal. My focus should be on taking care of God’s unique creation that houses the Holy Spirit.
