When It's All About Image

I’ll pull on jeans and an old sweatshirt when house cleaning is on the day’s agenda. And I’ll grab my comfiest yoga pants when I’m going to sit at my computer all day. But give me a day when there will be other people in the mix – on a Target run, at church, in Aldi, or at the coffeeshop – and I can obsess over my attire simply because I want to portray the best image.

If I wear the blue button-down shirt, people might notice how nice I look in blue (an older person told me that when I was 12 years old, for goodness’ sake!). If I wear heels, people won’t know how short I am (5’1” on a good day). If I wear dark pants and push up the sleeves on my top, I’ll look more slender and fit (ha!). You get the drill. Even as I write this, I acknowledge the folly of my thoughts.

So, what’s the fix? We don’t have to go too far in scripture to find the answer. From the first moment God created us, he gave us a perfect image:

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).

Notice I said, “perfect image.” That’s right, an image as perfect as the image God himself bears. God, in all his perfect glory, thought his creation—men and women alike—could carry his image. He created us to reflect him from Day 1. (Well, actually, it was Day 6 of creation!)

Then why do I try so hard to control what others see in me or what they think of me? (As if the color of my shirt really matters to anyone?) I need to remember that I’m serving an audience of One. 

No one was created to measure up to anyone’s standard other than God’s. We weren’t created to look any different than how God formed us. How we dress, what we drive, who we socialize with, how we raise our kids, or where we work do not define our image.

Not a single part of my being (inside and out) was formed without God’s knowledge (Psalm 119:73). God gets all the praise because we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). Ultimately, who I am and the image I portray is a product of my walk with God.

I can blame the self-focus in many areas of my life on Adam and Eve’s misguided choice to eat from a forbidden tree (a.k.a., “The Fall” in Genesis 3), or I can remember their bad choice doesn’t have to inform my decisions.

I am created in the image of God, saved by the grace of his Son Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-5),  and I can keep in step with his Spirit (Galatians 5:25). God in his mercy knows I may struggle with maintaining the “right” image, but in Him alone, I have everything I need as I daily focus on pleasing him, my audience of One. 

So, what will you be wearing today? :-) 

Let’s memorize this together: “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).