What is self-image? Basically, self-image is the view you have of yourself. This is the most basic definition, but it lacks a standard by which we can evaluate our self-image. Let’s expand this definition and see what standards the world uses. The world would say that self-image includes certain qualities that you possess, such as being friendly, good-looking, and wealthy. The world’s definition would also include our feelings of personal worth, which would ask questions like, “How do I feel? What do I look like? Do I measure up to my friends’ estimation of what I should be?” The world’s definition often looks at role models in the entertainment and sports industries and says that we should copy them in order to feel happy and have a healthy self-image.

Now let’s expand our definition of self-image in the bibli­cal sense and see what standards appear. What does the Bible say about our image? Genesis 1:26-27 says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness ... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” So the Bible traces our self-image from God’s image: we were created in His image. Before the Fall, this image of God in us was made up of a right knowledge of God, righteousness, and holiness, because we were created without sin. Adam and Eve were solely concerned with enhancing God’s image in themselves and translating God’s glory into this world rather than worrying about how they looked in each other’s eyes. After the Fall, however, this image of God in us was shattered; we lost that knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. God’s Word — the one standard we are to measure ourselves by — tells us that something is seriously lacking in our self-image; we lack God’s image in a radical way. The Bible also tells us that we need this image of God recreated in us through Jesus Christ, the Second Adam.

We will not be truly happy until we have this biblical view of ourselves and are being recreated into the image of Jesus Christ.

How many of you looked in the mirror this morning? You probably spent some time combing your hair, brushing your teeth, and washing your face. What were you thinking as you looked in the mirror? Maybe your thoughts ran along the lines of “Oh, I’m so ugly, I wish I was as pretty as Sally; then I could fit in with her group of friends. Maybe if I did my hair the way she does hers, she’ll accept me.” Or perhaps, “I wish I was better looking; I’ve been trying to catch Emily’s eye, but she’ll only look at Dave.” Or did your thoughts run along a different line, such as, “Lord, I am created in Thy image; help me today to accept the person I am. Lord, recre­ate my heart inwardly so that I might serve Thee better and show love to those around me”? Or, “Lord I am a sinner in need of Thy grace. Lately I’ve been feeling down about how I look, but I realize that Thy purpose with me is more than how I look on the outside, but rather how my heart is on the inside, in relation to Thee.”

There are two standards here informing your self-image. Can you detect them? The first two examples show the stan­dards that other people and the world set for us, or that we set for ourselves so that we can feel good. The second set of examples reveals a striving for a biblical view of self in the eyes of God with an emphasis on the heart, not so much on the out­ward appearance. The next time you look in the mirror, think of this: by what standard should I measure myself, the world’s standard or God’s standard?