God Loves Every Body
Physical Healing and Wholeness: A Holistic Approach
Reflection By Scott Stoner
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? … Therefore glorify God in your body.
- 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20
At Living Compass, we often say that many compasses are competing to guide our lives. The compasses of the dominant culture are strong, frequently giving us messages that are contradictory to those that our faith gives to us. This seems to be especially true in the messages we receive about our bodies.
Social media and consumer-driven ads often show us body images that are perfectionist, unrealistic, and are frequently obsessed with looking young. The message is clear: your body is not okay as it is, and you need our product/program/workout to create a body you can feel good about. Sadly, sometimes churches have even added to body negatively by falsely attributing sin and temptation to the body.
In contrast, a healthy faith tells us that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and that God loves every body. Our bodies are wonderfully created by a loving God who loves all aspects of who we are, no exceptions. This faith-based body-positivity celebrates our bodies and inspires us to care for the gifts that they are.
Making It Personal: Are you aware of any unhealthy body image messages you may have internalized? If so, what might help you move to a more positive image of your body, one that is grounded in the truth that your body as a miraculous gift from God?