Embrace Your Changing Body
It's not just the change around us that we need to deal with. We also need to deal with the change within us.
You're not the person you once were. Maybe in some ways you haven't changed, but in other ways, you have.
For one thing, every one of us ages. When I look in the mirror, you know what I see? Evidence of change! Less hair on top, and more grey in the hair that remains. More hair appearing from other places like nose and ears. Little wrinkles showing up where they never were before!
At our men's group last year we discussed the life of Absalom, David's rebellious son. The Bible says that there was "no blemish in him"! I thought "lucky guy!" But then again, Absalom died when he was fleeing his enemies and his hair got caught in the branch of a tree and he hung there until they got to him – week that’s not going to ever happen to me, thank the Lord!
Outward Changes, Inward Renewal
Our bodies change. I'm only in my mid-30s, but already much has changed, and they tell me it's only going to get worse. They tell me that as the years go by, I won't hear as well as I once did. I probably won't see quite as well and will need to get glasses. My memory might even start to go, never mind my back and my knees!
Paul says this: "Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." (2 Corinthians 4:16)
I look in the mirror and I think I'm changing. Outwardly I am beginning to waste away. I have to deal with it!
God's Emphasis Is on Inward Beauty
Some people deal with it by getting medical professionals to cover up any signs of change. They do the hair plugs thing! Or they do botox, injecting their faces to try and hide their ageing. I'm not sure that's the best way to deal with your changing self, because in the end outward beauty isn't what it's about.
John Butler writes this: "While good looks is not evil, neither is it the thing of greatest value. It is only skin deep and will not last. It is not wrong. In fact, it is a good thing to look in the mirror every morning to adjust your appearance so you will not be a shock to others. But you had better have something besides a good appearance if you want God to bless your day. Good looks in themselves is not what is important in life. God does not place a premium on outward beauty. Hollywood does, but God and Hollywood are on different sides of the fence. God places the emphasis on inward beauty not outward beauty."
Thank God for that!
How are you dealing with your changing self? Are you embracing the changes that time is bringing to your body? God doesn't love you more or less according to your appearance, my friends. He loves me as much now as He did when I was thinner, younger, faster.
Embrace your changing self today.
Our bodies change with age, but God's love for us never wavers regardless of our outward appearance. Embrace the changes time brings, and remember that God places His emphasis on inward beauty, not outward.