Jesus Jesus be the mirror on our walls, help us see your love for us all

I will never forget a certain chemistry class that took place about a week ago. What was the lesson on? Some equation...I don't really remember which one we were learning about. I only remember that while the teacher was talking, the girl beside me started squeezing the practically non-exsistant fat on her stomach and the tears brimming in her eyes. Besides distaste with herself, she looked completely vacant.

Part way through the period I signed off and went to the bathroom. two girls were standing in the bathroom. Girl A said "_______ doesn't like me. Maybe if I had prettier hair i could get his attention. Maybe I could be someone important if I only looked prettier....". Girl B said "At least you're smart. I suck at Science and no matter how much i study, i just can't get an A. You know how much more my parents and society would think of me if I just had an A in science". Wearily I walked back to class, completely in thought about all of this.

The truth is, we cannot be perfect by ourselves (Romans 3:23) "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". I think that deep down within our very cores, we know that we are not perfect. Deep down most of us hate an aspect (or many) about ourselves because we're aware that we're lacking in some area.

Yet without Jesus our knowledge of truth is extremely limited. The first lie is that by getting a boy's attention,being thinner or "prettier" or getting an A in a subject, you are somehow worth more. Without the deep relationship of Jesus, we often build our mirrors on other people's opinions of us. Yes, it is true, that eating disorders are about control and other things too ( other than just self-hatred). And it is true that good grades can legitmentily be wanted for good reasons (and so long as there is balance in your life, this is good). And being with a guy or girl is not a bad thing in itself. Yet it is undeniable that people spend a lot of time an energy trying to look good to other people. When you want to get into Harvard primarily to impress people and (even worse) you feel like your self worth depends on getting a positive admissions letter back to you, when you feel like your self worth depends on being prettier, smarter, more popular, or being with a certain person- you are cheating yourself in a big lie. The truth is, if you try and impress people by yourself, someone is not going to be impressed and that's going to crush you. If you try and base your self worth on being perfect, you're inevitably going to mess up at some point, and you're going to feel empty. I can, unfortunately say, that I say this is out of experiance (both recently to some degree and in the past it was a major major problem).

Am I saying we have no hope then and that nothing can make us more valuable? Of course not! Genesis 1:27 reads " So God created mankind in his own image,

in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them."

oh how i wish i could have explained to that girl, in the middle of chem class that she had been mad in God's image.

But even more important is this well known verse "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life". That verse is something i've taken for granted. But Romans 5:8 later points out that "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." We didn't deserve Christ's love when he died for us: he loves us unconditionally. We fight so hard for human love and acceptance, but the son of God looks at us with love when we completely reject him. He loves us despite our faults and shortcomings.

He loves us enough to die for us. Oh, how i wish i could have told them all that. "Hey, the son of God died for you, regardless of whether you get an A, or whether that boy likes you, or what hair you have, or how much you weigh!!!!"

People have committed suicide because they feel worthless (because they haven't been liked by others), people have ended up in hospitals for starving themselves, people have wasted years of their lives hating themselves: all because they use the mirror on the wall or other people's opinions as their mirror of self-worth. That path clearly isn't working. We need Jesus to be the mirror on our wall: the mirror of right and wrong, and the mirror of worth. That may sound basic, but in my experience, I have found that living that out takes constantly reading the word, running to him, and prayer for wisdom and strength.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C2o0jHNRuU

I highly recccomend you searching "Beautiful" by mercyme on youtube or buying it, it's a great reminder and has to do with my post!!