Sunday, August 10, 2014

Words of Wisdom

Reflection
Posted by Selma

But we Christians have no veil over our faces, we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him.  - 2 Corinthians 3:18 (Living Bible Version)

Have you ever walked past a mirror and took the opportunity to stop and admire yourself? C’mon girls, let’s be honest - We love to check ourselves out! We’re all guilty of stopping to fuss with our hair. We stare at our complexion to touch up our makeup. We turn back and forth to make sure our outfits look good. We tug here and adjust there giving ourselves the once over and a smile of approval.

Or how ‘bout this, have you ever stopped to look in a magnified mirror that intensifies everything times ten? Whoa! All kidding aside, we’re talking a new experience here. Honestly, it takes all the fun out of looking. We don’t want to emphasize every unsightly unwanted body part - big nose, cellulite, wide hips, flat chest, bulging belly, crooked teeth, bad acne, frizzy hair, and the list goes on.

Girls, why are we constantly admiring, envying, or coveting what we don’t have? Christian girl’s aren’t excluded from doing this either. I know first hand because I do it (laugh out loud.)! So ladies, how can we have a healthy balance about our appearance? How can we not be so extreme as to go back to the Little House on the Prairie days, but still look attractive, not letting today’s culture dictate how we should look?

 Here’s some eye opening statistics: in the book True Beauty by Carolyn Mahaney and Nicole Whitacre, Eighty-five percent of women are dieting and sixty-five percent confess to having an eating disorder. Additionally, eighty percent of women will have cosmetic surgery at some point in their life.

According to ex-Victoria Secrets model, Kylie Bisutti in her book, I’m No Angel,  in  modeling world, anything over thirty inch hips is considered curvy and curvy doesn’t do well on a high fashion runway, whereas anorexic thin models are considered ideal. In Debra Evans book, Beauty and the Best, she states today’s average model, actress, or dancer is thinner than ninety-five percent of the female population. However, sixty percent of women in the U.S. wear a size twelve and thirty-one percent of women are a size sixteen and over.

In retrospect, when you’re young, you’re not pre-occupied with growing old. Reality is that one day you are going to age. Just take a look at mom or grandma, remember they were once young too! Through them you see it’s a peek of what’s to come. It can’t be stopped although some women try spending lots of money on surgery, they only come up with a superficial “one size fits all,” unnatural, tight botox face, with swollen protruding lips. It’s so sad!  They are pretty women who in actuality didn’t need anything done because Jesus already created them beautiful the way they were originally.

Younger girls, allow Jesus to become your mirror! See what God sees, He sees the real you! He sees beyond, into our spirit (soul). He loves you for who we are!
True beauty comes from Jesus, (Christ within us)! Then we’re transformed into His image. This beauty never fades. 1 Peter 3:3-4 in the Living Translation says, “Don’t be concerned about outward beauty that depends on jewelry or beautiful clothes or hair arrangement, be beautiful inside, in your hearts, with lasting charm of a gentle and quiet spirit which is so precious to God.”

When I repented and asked Jesus to be my Savior, He took residence in my heart and a metamorphosis took place! I could walk radiantly in God’s spirit. Don’t get me wrong Christ does His part but you have to do yours to continue to walk in the spirit. It takes some discipline. You need to daily read your bible (i.e. communicating with Christ), pray, and get plugged into a good bible believing church. This is how to develop in your spirit and grow spiritually.

Did you know in the New Testament there’s no reference to women’s physical attractiveness at all? Check for yourself. The majority of the women in scripture aren’t described as beautiful but they share their virtues, inner qualities, and love for the Lord as they walk in the spirit (Evans, 150). Isn’t that awesome?

In closing girls, I waited as a young gal to ask Christ to be my Savior. Don’t wait! Do it now! Girls, don’t we want our sense of worth to come from God and not man? Don’t you want to find your true identity in Christ? Your value? Because, it has nothing to do with the way we look (1 Samuel 16:7, NIV)! When you have Jesus in your life, He makes you valuable because it’s His beauty! We want to exhibit and reflect Jesus’ character to others like being compassionate, helpful, generous, loving, caring, and encouraging. It will be evident to others that they will be able to see Christ’s true beauty in you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6RezoHKni0

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