I read this saying a few years ago and I wanted share it again for this blog post.
The picture you have of yourself
will affect you more than the picture
you have of God.
When I first read it….I was like this is so true. Our own self-portrait can get in the way of how God pictures us.
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret. (Psalm 139:13-15 ESV Bible)
That section of scripture from the Book of Psalms is very popular and taught in many churches. However, I wanted to highlight the part where David says, I’m fearfully and wonderfully made.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people in our society (Christians and non-Christians) who don’t think they are fearfully and wonderfully made by God.
Their self-portrait is one of denial or disgust or contempt or cynicism or narcissism. That’s a shame. Because, if God is our creator wouldn’t he knows us better than we know ourselves?
I realize there are a lot of different portraits for people from like parents, siblings, family members, friends, teachers, employers, therapists, self-help gurus, and even pastors. But those people’s portraits will never matter if you don’t believe how God pictures you.
What is your self-portrait? And just remember the one Who Is and the one Who Will Come still pictures us better than we can ever imagine.
You know it’s funny you blogged about our self- portrait because I’ve been down on myself for the last week or two. For different reasons but mainly I’m just not happy with the person I am right now. Almost like I woke up one day and didn’t like me. This bit of wisdom really helped me. Thank you.
Valerie,
Thanks for the encouragement.
We all have to remind ourselves about our own self-portraits. Especially if we are going through a tough time or a dark period in our lives. It is easy to lose sight of how God view us despite of how we view ourselves.
I truly hope you are able to begin to like yourself and know that God loves you and sees you as special. I know that may sound trite and overly religious…but I can say from my own life…he truly loves each and every one of us. Even those who have rejected him as well as the ones who believe in him.