Every once in a while when I have a lot of extra time, which is rare, I scroll through Facebook and observe selfies and captions. Owning a DSLR does not make a person a photographer any more than a pretty face makes one a model.
Everybody's beautiful
Be encouraged - we are all beautiful in our own way and highly valued. Nothing could be further from the truth. The world defines beauty one way and that is by looks and size and body shape. Don't fall into that trap because looks fade, the body weathers, but the heart and one's actions are what makes a person truly beautiful.
A story and a lesson
I remember a girl in our high school - a foreigner with freckles and red hair. She was bullied mercilessly. She was skinny as a rail and wore glasses. She was ignored, called all the usual names, and was treated horribly by others. True, she wasn't attractive to look at.
Well, Alice (I'll use that name) changed. Five years later she was unrecognizable. Her hair was still bright red and she still had freckles, but she had gained weight and her face had changed dramatically. She was a swan who had bloomed to life. The gradual change was really remarkable. Now the ladies were jealous of her beauty and the boys were flocking to her for attention.
Many of us, had we been her, would have shunned those who bullied her. But not Alice! Nope. She had one valuable asset: the ability to forgive others when they didn't deserve it. She was one of the most popular ladies in town as it turns out. Now that I've moved away I don't know what ever happened to her, but she was a great lesson to me. She was the epitome of beauty that was more than skin deep.
Who to model?
The would be models on social media are sometimes attractive outwardly. But showing one's body is not necessary and is certainly immodest. And guys with their abs. Laughable. Maybe you are impressed but I'm not. I don't need makeup to impress. War paint is what I call it. A little lipstick and I'm good to go, not 45 minutes in front of a mirror to turn myself into something I'm not.
And show me a man who in a one-woman kind of guy and who devotes his life to his woman and children and works and I'll show you a man. Not a drunkard and an unfaithful playboy.
Show me a woman who is caring no matter what she looks like and who sacrifices herself for the sake of others and I'll show you a real woman.
Model Christ
None of us are perfect, especially me, but there is One who is - Jesus. We were all created in the image of God. (Genesis 1:26). We certainly do not look like Him, but rather we are fashioned to resemble and represent God on this earth. Rather, it is Jesus who is the preeminent and perfect image of God. He alone is the exact representation of God the Father and is God Himself. And God is love.
To be created in God's image, as one scholar put it, "denotes our capacity to rule over creation and be in relationship with God and other humans and to exercise reason, intelligence, speech, moral consciousness, creativity, rationality, and choice." In other words, we have His attributes, though to a much lesser extent.
It is this Jesus that I practice righteousness (be obedient) for to be more like Him from day to day. I don't need to be nor do I aspire to be a model that the world adores, but rather a member of His church - His body - the one the world does not recognize.
We are all beautiful in His eyes and highly valued. We don't need to model for Facebook, Instagram and whatever, but we should model ourselves after Christ.
"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1, NIV).
We are beautiful with our own different ways, that's why we are unique. Sad to say, some people, didn't actually see it. What's more important for them is just what they saw, especially in the physical.