The message at church today was all about self-image. It's something I struggle with and see people struggling with a lot here, so I thought I'd post some of my favorite parts.
The pastor posed a question - what makes something valuable? Usually it's a combination of three things - who made it, what it's made of, and how much someone would pay for it. For us, God made each of us, in His image, and sent Jesus to pay the ultimate price to save us. That's pretty darn valuable - arguably more valuable than anything else on the earth.
He also compared self-worth to paper money, and held up a $20 bill. He made the point that by crumpling it up, throwing it on the floor, and kicking it to the corner that it hadn't lost any value at all, and that most of us would still be more than happy to have it. He also made the point that the value of that bill only exists because we've assigned it, and that God has assigned us more value than any other creature on the planet.
The most poignant part of the message I thought was the mirrors. Little tiny ones, very simple, one handed to each person as they walked in the doors that morning. Towards the end of the message the pastor told everyone to pull it out and look into it. I was sitting at the very back and could see some people, like me, not even wanting to do that much. He asked when you see your reflection, what exactly do you see? Your physical appearance? Your profession? Your relationship status? Wealth? Possessions? The opinions of others?
Basically... do you see anything other than the masterpiece God created in His image for a specific purpose that absolutely no one else in the world can accomplish? Because if you do, someone somewhere has convinced you of a lie, even if that person was yourself.
Anyway...I really don't want this to become a self-pitying thread or filled with empty compliments. If anything, I'd love for it to just be a discussion about a common struggle. I actually came back permanently to CF because of a thread like this a while back, and I remember it being filled with such amazing encouragement and like-minded people. I hope we can do that again.
The pastor posed a question - what makes something valuable? Usually it's a combination of three things - who made it, what it's made of, and how much someone would pay for it. For us, God made each of us, in His image, and sent Jesus to pay the ultimate price to save us. That's pretty darn valuable - arguably more valuable than anything else on the earth.
He also compared self-worth to paper money, and held up a $20 bill. He made the point that by crumpling it up, throwing it on the floor, and kicking it to the corner that it hadn't lost any value at all, and that most of us would still be more than happy to have it. He also made the point that the value of that bill only exists because we've assigned it, and that God has assigned us more value than any other creature on the planet.
The most poignant part of the message I thought was the mirrors. Little tiny ones, very simple, one handed to each person as they walked in the doors that morning. Towards the end of the message the pastor told everyone to pull it out and look into it. I was sitting at the very back and could see some people, like me, not even wanting to do that much. He asked when you see your reflection, what exactly do you see? Your physical appearance? Your profession? Your relationship status? Wealth? Possessions? The opinions of others?
Basically... do you see anything other than the masterpiece God created in His image for a specific purpose that absolutely no one else in the world can accomplish? Because if you do, someone somewhere has convinced you of a lie, even if that person was yourself.
Anyway...I really don't want this to become a self-pitying thread or filled with empty compliments. If anything, I'd love for it to just be a discussion about a common struggle. I actually came back permanently to CF because of a thread like this a while back, and I remember it being filled with such amazing encouragement and like-minded people. I hope we can do that again.
