The Perfect Body

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.  Genesis 3:7

Do you struggle with body image?  I think we all do, or have.  The first thing Adam and Eve became aware of after eating the fruit, was their bodies.  They were naked.  They’d always been naked, this wasn’t new but when they lived in God’s perfection, they didn’t have any knowledge or self awareness that they were nude.  Eating from the tree of good and evil changed man’s body image, forever.

It doesn’t stop there.  The next verse shows Adam and Eve hearing God moving about and they hide from Him.  Shame and guilt enter their world.  When God asks where they are hiding, the first thing out of Adam’s mouth is an explanation of being naked and needing to hide.

Were they really ashamed of their exposed skin?  Was he hiding their mistake by trying to explain it away with an excuse?  Maybe both.

What can we take from these scriptures?  Are we supposed to be ashamed of our bodies? No, I do not see in scripture where their bodies were changed or transformed.  They were still exactly how God had created them, only now evil had entered the world and the lies of satan made them aware that they weren’t covered.

We need to be content in the bodies God created especially for us.  It wasn’t a mistake.  This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take care of our bodies.  If we need to change for health reasons, by all means, do it.  I need to continue to make changes for my own health reasons but I’ll be honest, I struggle with just wanting to look attractive and “cute” and that strong desire seems to over rule the health factor.  I know it shouldn’t but as most women know, it does.

Our longing for perfect bodies, I believe, is our heart longing for what God originally designed. Maybe it’s not a super model body but a being that is not only healthy, but 100% satisfied and perfect because God says so.  Where the essence of who we are in Him is all we see when we look at each other or into a mirror.  Someday we will have that.

Until then, keep that longing in check.  Your heart longs to be home with the King. The next time you are feeling insecure about your figure, I challenge you to remind yourself that what you truly want, is the perfect body you will have in Heaven with Christ. Take the focus off your hips and where it belongs.

But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” Genesis 3:9-10

* I posted a recent photo of myself so you can see, I’m not perfect.  It’s not easy for me to post pics of myself but I can’t ask you to rethink your body image, if I’m not willing to be honest and do it myself.