Is Body Image a Spiritual Issue?

It's the day after Easter. I don't know where this Monday finds you - but I find on days after big, holy holidays, the return to the seemingly un-spiritual often jars me. We go back to work, carpools, emails... and we just only had what seemed like a moment to capture and pay attention to this GREAT BIG NEWS: Jesus paid for our sins + rose again.

And especially jarring to me is that now that Easter is "over" (is celebrating the Resurrection ever over?), the next thing on everyone's mind often seems to be summer. And swimsuits. And "getting ready" for that. Spoiler alert: you're already ready for summer.

It's like how Black Friday comes the day after Thanksgiving. We're SO THANKFUL, and then WE'RE SO CONSUMERISTIC, and sometimes I need a second to adjust. So when I saw my email inbox this AM with three swimsuit ads and one email telling me that "fit tastes better than anything" (I think freedom tastes better than anything), I had to email you gals and ask: 

Do you believe that body image is a spiritual issue? Because I do. 

First, there's the fact that we just celebrated the holy act that Jesus participated in with His body. Then, there's the wild truth that God made our bodies, and how we view them ultimately impacts how we view Him.

So, let's take the space to agree right here and right now: the way we view our bodies is not a shallow, surface issues for the immature or the vain. The way we view our bodies is a deeply spiritual issue because our bodies are made by God, in the image of God, and they are where we encounter God for now. 

Perhaps the most essential move we can make in breaking free from body shame is to agree that God cares and wants to walk with us as we learn to love these bodies He made with intention. Maybe the most effective way we can begin this fight against the enemy is to say: this matters. This is important. This is holy. This is worth talking about. This is a good body. This is a body that can live free from shame.