How can I accept the way I look?

KIDS TALK ABOUT GOD

How can I accept the way I look?

By Carey Kinsolving and friends

 (Part Three of Three)

“God created me very pretty. No one looks just like me,” says Alexis, 5.

“Beauty is transcendent. It is our most immediate experience of the eternal,” write authors John and Stasi Eldredge in “Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul.”

Eldredge writes that beauty is also powerful. “It may be the most powerful thing on earth. It is dangerous. Because it matters.”

Why does it matter? It matters because beauty is the essence of God. King David wrote that he desired above all to dwell in the house of the Lord “to behold the beauty of the Lord” (Psalm 27:4).

Saints of the past have spoken of beholding the beauty of God as a “beatific vision.”

God gave Eve a beautiful form and beautiful spirit,” Eldredge writes. “She expresses beauty in both. Better, she expresses beauty simply in who she is. Like God, it is her essence.”

Wow!

In a world that often exploits the beauty of women and a world where confusion over beautiful women abounds, this perspective is revolutionary.

“Why shame the way you look if the King of kings created you,” says Whitney, 11. “So the next time you feel your appearance is not perfect, think it over.”

We all suffer from wounds to our soul. Shame is that sense of uneasiness that a woman feels when she’s uncomfortable with her beauty.

“But few of us believe we are beautiful, and fewer still are comfortable with it,” writes Stasi Eldredge. “We either think we don’t have any beauty, or if we do, that it’s dangerous and bad. So we hide behind extra weight and layers of unnecessary make-up.”

The good news is that Christian women don’t have to hide or feel ashamed of their beauty, says Jennie, 7: “I can learn to accept my appearance by remembering that the Lord loves me just the way I am. I know that because He made me look just the way He wanted me to look.”

Love frees us to accept ourselves as unique creatures of God. If God in his infinite wisdom created us to look a certain way, there must be a reason. Quit trying to second guess God, and believe that he knows what he’s doing. Let the inner confidence from knowing God loves you radiate from within.

“Don’t ever compare yourself to other people and then point out your strong points,” says Pierson, 10. “We need to accept the image God gives us.”

We always get into trouble by comparing ourselves to others instead of accepting what God has given us. The Lord said that to whom much is given, much is required. Do you really want the kind of pressure that comes from turning every head when you walk into a room?

“If you think of yourself as an ugly person, then you are saying God made a mistake. God doesn’t make mistakes,” says Langley, 9.

Think about this: If God unveiled the glory he will give to the most unattractive Christian you’ve ever met, you would be tempted to worship. As we age and become less attractive outwardly, our inner glory should grow.

Memorize this truth: “Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God” (I Peter 3:3-4).

Ask this question: Are you confident that God made you uniquely for a purpose?

“Kids Talk About God” is written and distributed by Carey Kinsolving. To access free, online “Kids Color Me Bible” books, “Mission Explorers” videos, a new children’s musical, and all columns in a Bible Lesson Archive, visit www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org. To read journey-of-faith feature stories written by Carey Kinsolving, visit www.FaithProfiles.org.