When you look at yourself in the mirror, what do you see?
There are physical mirrors, but also other mirrors; including people, that influence the way we see ourselves. Chris Shook addresses the different types of mirrors that affect women.
“The very first mirror that young girls look into, is the eyes of their mother. It’s both their mother and their father, but especially their mother in that identity of thinking, ‘this is what a woman is – this is what it means to be beautiful.’ What little girl doesn’t think that her mom is the most beautiful woman in the world?”
“We also look into the eyes of our peers and our culture. Oftentimes we get extremely mixed messages coming from culture.”
If when looking in the mirror you aren’t seeing a beautiful reflection of God’s creation, you may be looking at beauty through the eyes of the world, rather than through the eyes of Christ. Chris expands,
“The problem is we’re asking the right question, but we’re asking the wrong mirror. The real mirror that we should all be asking and looking into is the mirror of Christ eyes; the mirror of God’s eyes; seeing what His word says about us, and what the Bible defines as beautiful.”
Chris shares what the Bible says about beauty and the benefit of seeing ourselves through the eyes of Christ.
“The Bible tells us that we are created in His image. That right there tells you that at every woman, no matter your age; you may be a young girl, a teenager, a mom, middle-aged grandma, it doesn’t matter, this transcends culture and age, shape and size.
“The Bible says we are created in God’s image and He creates beautiful things; Christ himself is beautiful. The more that our lives look like Christ’s life, the more we become like Him.”
The world thinks that beauty comes from the way we look, but the Bible says that beauty comes from reflecting the image of Christ.
Megan Shook Alpha says that it is especially important for Christian women to pay attention to where their definition of beauty is coming from. She highlights the difference between temporary and eternal beauty.
“We should want to be is beautiful; we should want to look for those characteristics that are found inside of us and the personality we have. Instead though, our world is telling us to focus on what’s pretty, to focus on our outer appearance and changing the way we look; our hair, our clothes and our body. That’s something that’s so temporary that’s not going to last.
“We should be working on things that are going to make a difference and are going to last forever.”
Chris Shook is the co-author of two New York Times bestsellers, and . She and her husband, Kerry, founded Woodlands Church, outside of Houston, Texas. Her daughter, Megan Shook Alpha, is a graduate of Baylor University and works as a pastor to students at Woodlands Church.
Beauty Begins
