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God’s Grace vs. the Male Gaze

 

 

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Do you see your flaws first, or do you look into your eyes and see the beauty within your soul? I believe we don’t spend enough time in the mirror to see how we truly look. I’m not talking about the time that it takes to carefully apply your makeup or fix your hair (which I’m sure brings out all of the perfect features God designed you with). I’m talking about the state of your mind, will, and emotions. We have been trained to use mirrors to examine our outer body and determine whether it will be pleasing to the male gaze; but we can go back to God’s original design for mirrors and examine our mind, will, and emotions.

When God looks at us, He sees us perfectly placed inside of Jesus. We make up the complete body of Christ. Now that I think about it, we must make a gorgeous piece of art! God desires for us to consciously be aware of our spiritual location. He gave us grace so that we can overcome every obstacle that may cause us not to see ourselves in the finished works of Jesus. Think about it, God desires for our mind to be focused on Him, our will to be driven by His agenda for our lives, and our emotions to be sound.

So we as women have many options to choose from when we take a look in the mirror. We can either pretend that everything is okay with our soul and focus on our outer beauty, or we can do the work on both! The next time you look into the mirror, stop and think for a moment. Am I examining myself through my culture’s perception of beauty standards? Do I care more about how men see me or how God sees me? Am I seeing the complete me? Am I thanking God for my emotional growth, will to submit, and Christ-like mindset?

This is all between you and God. You are graced to have a personal, one-on-one relationship with Him whether you are married or not. God died for you and the “us” (husband, children, family). Never ever forget about you! Don’t stop growing in grace. Keep renewing your mind and changing the way you perceive every social norm. God wants to elevate you. His dream is to see you live out your fullest potential, not the potential set by the culture around you. There are NO. MORE. LIMITS. Believe it and live it out until you look in the mirror and only see Him. That’s what He wants you to see.

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