Accepting Yourself

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:29

Studies show that many of us don’t like ourselves. A poll of college students confirmed that over 50 per cent suffered from low self-acceptance, with the majority citing their looks as the source of their unhappiness. ‘My nose is too long. My eyes are too small. I’m too fat here—too thin there. I’m too short—too tall. I’ve got freckles.’ And the beauty industry is more than willing to darken it, lighten it, accentuate it, lift it, tuck it and cover it up in an attempt to sell us a self-image we can accept. A little improvement might indeed be beneficial, but not as a basis for self-worth. Here’s how God sees the issue: ‘Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘‘How clumsy can you be?’’’ (Isaiah 45:9). You are God’s personal creation. And He makes no mistakes, overlooks no details and leaves nothing unfinished. You need to accept yourself because He created, redeemed and accepts you. In an age of media overload, we’re bombarded by images of perfect-looking people, with the inference that we need to look like them if we hope to amount to anything. But Paul says: ‘We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise’ (2 Corinthians 10:12). The God Who made you who you are has a plan for perfecting you. You’re perfectly acceptable, if not yet acceptably perfect. You’re ‘predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son’. So you’re a work in progress!

Prayer
Heavenly Father, keep forming and molding me to be conformed into the image of Jesus – where outside looks were never even mentioned about Him. In Jesus’ Name, Amen