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This past weekend my husband and I, along with our families, spent the weekend immersed in God’s Word while on a trip to the Museum of the Bible. We had a wonderful time walking the story of the Old Testament, virtually experiencing the Holy City of Jerusalem, and exploring how the Bible has been translated over time. The whole experience gave me a sense of closeness and left me thinking about just how much God loves me.
As I started my work week, this sense of profound love that God has for me was stuck in my heart. What was it about me that God loved so much? After all, I’m a pretty standard human that sins, asks for forgiveness, and finds myself repenting all over again. Yet, as a Christian, my faith tells me that God loves with a sacrificial and unconditional love, so sacrificial such that “God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
This got me thinking on how we, as humans, think about “getting” love while in the world.
“God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life”
(John 3:16)
“The World System”
Love is something that all individuals want to experience. “The World System“ gives us ideas on how to go about getting love. It tells us to:
- Be thin or be muscular (or other body standard)
- Wear the most stylish clothes
- Drive the most expensive car
- Get the degree from the most prestigious school
- Hang out with the most popular crowd
- Take the most perfect pictures
The list goes on and on. “The World System” tells us to keep achieving and getting more things or the right things - then we will finally have what we need to earn someone’s love. In my personal experience, this does NOT lead to a sacrificial and unconditional love. This leads to people liking you for what you can do for them. I have tried many of these things to earn love and yet the thirst for true and unconditional love was not satisfied.
As an eating disorder dietitian, I have seen many of my clients buy the lie that changing their body in pursuit of the thin ideal delivers on all its promises… only to leave them feeling physically and emotionally empty. We have been sold this lie from diet culture and The Enemy that there is only one right way to have a body. Unfortunately, it has also been perpetuated by sizeist health professionals citing research with short follow up times, with flawed data collection, and with research conclusions that are inconsistent with the results of the study.
The idea that there is one right way to have a body is not supported by science and to me flies directly in the face of my belief in a Creative Creator.
The Case for a Creative Creator
The next time you are outside I want you to truly stop and be present in the moment. Look at the trees, the flowers, the clouds, the colors of the sunset. Listen to the birds singing, the squirrels chasing each other, the stream flowing. Feel the warm sun, the cool breeze, the drizzling rain.
What do you notice?
There is richness and life in all those things and their differences make them beautiful. God created this diversity on purpose. You cannot sell me on the idea that God created many types of plants, fish, animals and then looked at humans, made in the image of God, and said there’s only one blueprint.
Nature to me is the evidence of a Creative Creator.
I remember when I took my first steps in throwing away “The World System” to earning love - it felt uneasy and vulnerable. I lost people who I thought were friends. I felt raw, emotional and exposed. My next step has been even harder. While I still struggle with it, I have worked on dismantling my perfectionist façade that I have hid behind…my safety net.
I became authentic. I became who God creatively made me to be. I am working on loving that person.
It has been hard work – renewing my mind with God’s truth that he loves me and demonstrated this on the cross (Ephesians 5:8). As someone who is healing from “The World System,” I have come to trust that I cannot earn my salvation or more of God’s love by works or deeds, but only through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8). Instead of performing for God, I am experiencing God and inviting Him into my hurt places for true healing.
It’s a hard journey and it’s one that I have accompanied my clients on many times. What I can say is that while it is challenging work, what I have gained is invaluable - I became authentic. I became who God creatively made me to be. I am working on loving that person. This allows me to show up authentically in all my relationships, including my relationship with God, and experience love for who I truly am.
How are you trying to earn love? Where can you invite God in to help you heal from “The World System”?