It took 36 years, emergency spine surgery and a literal miracle for me to love my body; for me to see that what God had created was amazing; for me to honor all of the elements of my body. You could say that I “knew” God had designed me in His image - perfectly and wonderfully made - but I didn’t live that. I didn’t walk in that. Most importantly, I didn’t honor myself with that “knowledge.”

For 15 years I lived with body dysmorphia and an eating disorder. I constantly chased after the next big “goal” because the previous one I had set was no longer enough. These goals were never based on harnessing the power God gave my body. They were always geared toward changing my appearance, wanting to achieve a body type that was never God’s design for me. I didn’t nourish my body in any way. Eventually, it broke. And, God sat me down (or, laid me down) for a few years to knock some sense into me. This is what I got from nearly two decades of hating and coming to love my body, with God by my side.

BODY AS SACRIFICE

My life was my body. I worked out 6 days a week, sometimes twice a day. I ate just enough to keep me going. I killed myself day in and day out because I couldn’t live in or with the body God had given me; it wasn’t good enough.

I sacrificed my body to and for the world, not God.

Paul is writing to a mixed Jewish and Gentile church that lived in a world where animal sacrifice was the normal way people “worshiped.” He deliberately borrows that sacrificial language to say: because of Jesus’ once‑for‑all sacrifice, you no longer worship God that way, but by offering your whole embodied life to him. True worship is not just inward feelings or “heart” language; it is your whole self: body, choices, habits, relationships… all set apart for God.

We might believe that our hearts are positioned toward God and we invest in Christ-centered relationships, habits and mentalities. But let’s check that for a minute: how are you treating your body? What choices do you make that impact your body? Is it aligned with God’s desires for you or are you making bodily sacrifices for the world instead?

We must recognize that our lives in this world comprise our whole self and we will constantly battle the urge to conform to the ways of this world. We cannot separate our bodies from our faith. And if we have faith, we can lean on Jesus to know that our bodies are loved and cherished just as they are here and now… He died for that after all.

BODY AS TEMPLES

Jesus broke His body for me. So why did I go and break the one He created and then paid for with His life?! I acted as if the Holy Spirit lived outside of me. My “sin” was preferring what society told me was beautiful and the actions I needed to take in order to obtain a body that was not one God intended for me. I had idolized, well, my own body. Yikes. It had become more important than anything else. Achieving unrealistic worldly standards took priority over God’s (much better) standards for me.

Paul was writing to an early church that was plagued with all kinds of, shall we say, fleshly desires, and we can never take scripture into account without the proper context. However, for today we’re using this as an applied embodied obedience. That we should understand the magnitude of what it took for us to be created, be free and be children of God, and reflect that in every way we treat and think about our bodies.

Unless we’ve been through a traumatic physical experience, most of us don’t often thank God for our bodies or present them in ways that are representative of our faith. If you remembered in every moment that God is in you and He died for you, what choices would you take to honor your body? What’s one embodiment of your faith that you’re walking in today?

Jesus did not die for us to play fast and loose with the intricate masterpieces that are our bodies. We do not have the Holy Spirit just to call upon when we desire - the Spirit is ALWAYS in you. What you do, you’re doing with God… always. Praise God for all that your body can do. Don’t look at what you think you lack, look at and honor the grace, sacrifice and love of God in your body.

BODY AS GOD’S IMAGE

I never believed I was truly ever worthy of anything, which was one of the underlying factors driving my body dysmorphia and the continued push to accomplish asinine goals. I thought that if I could just look a certain way then I’d finally be worthy. I’m not sure of what, maybe everything, but I knew that only then would I be deserving. That’s wild because God quite literally, in the beginning, made us according to His image.

UNDERSTAND: I’m aware that this verse isn’t literally discussing physical bodies. However, our physical bodies are the homes of our souls, our entire beings. So God must have had a divine plan in creating them the way He did. Furthermore, here, the reference to “our” and plural “likeness” can have several interpretations. For me, it is Father, Son, and Spirit. And, on a smaller scale, all of the heavenly beings, including angels.

How could I - and you - not be worthy when God literally created us in His likeness? Isn’t God worthy of it all? Can we truly love God if we can’t love his most prized creations: us? He didn’t make animals in His likeness. He didn’t make the oceans in His likeness. He made us mere mortals.

Indeed, we may be just a molecule in comparison to God’s Glory, but to God, we are His universe and we, and our bodies, are incredibly worthy. That’s why He made us perfectly, wonderfully, fearfully, divinely in His own way. And, BTW, we still have no clue how a lot of our bodies work. That’s how intricate they are; how much time God spent in creating us.

BODY AS ULTIMATE LOVE

Living sacrifice, paid for a price, Holy Spirit inside of you, ultimately crafted in God’s image… Well, shoot. I’d say that’s a love we can’t understand as humans. We forget that God created our bodies, not just our souls and spirits and hearts… We must remember that we are made IN God’s image, and if we love God, how could we not love ourselves? The only “deadly sin” is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and that’s because - in my opinion - if one denies the Holy Spirit, one denies oneself. So if we don’t love our bodies, and the Holy Spirit resides in us, are we not rejecting God? And if we forget those two examples… lest we forget the death, defeat and resurrection of our Savior to give us new life. A life that is to be free and full of joy, gratefulness and sacrifice. Sacrifice to God. Sacrifice in the form of love for others. But never sacrificing the treatment we give to our bodies. Never being chained to a societal standard.

Next time you look at the divine masterpiece that is your body, say to yourself, “My God made that! Out of all of the elements in the entire universe, my God decided that THIS BODY, MY BODY, was worthy, and that’s more than enough for me!”

Some mantras that live rent free in my heart, mind and body to constantly remind me to love my body as God does:

• Jesus broke his body for me. I don’t need to break mine (again).
• I should definitely listen to my body today. It’s probably the Holy Spirit.
• God loves my body and His love is perfect. How could I not love my body?
• What verse talks about having to be a certain size or look a certain way? There isn’t one.
• My body has been touched by God so I will love it today.
• I am so grateful for all that my body has overcome and can do!
• Just as my spirit is worthy, loved and chosen, my body is, too.