Inter-Varsity Press

Contents

Foreword by Linda Marshall

Preface

1. Looking in the mirror

2. Taking the lid off

3. The original design

4. The shameful admission

5. The new beginning

6. Accepting acceptance

7. Living the new life

8. The re-orientated life

9. Working it out

Conclusion

FOREWORD

Spacebook and MySpace are fascinating. I love clicking through people’s profile pictures. You can get a real sense of what someone’s like as you look through their biog or photos.You may even be surprised that the Trekkie in your homegroup was actually the European off-road quad biking champion! But have you ever wondered about what your profile page says about you? Why you chose one photo as your profile picture over another? Why you omitted to share with the world that your favourite films are all chick flicks . . . even though you’re a very manly five-a-side player? When I chat to the students I work with about this, what we come back to is that we want to portray an image of ourselves to the world. We want to be seen in a certain way. Or we want to see ourselves in a certain way. And sometimes, when someone holds a mirror up to us, we don’t like what we see.

Mirror, Mirror deals with one of the most-asked questions and least-understood areas in Christian living. Image. Identity. Self-esteem. How does being a Christian impact what I see when I stand in front of the mirror? Whether this is an area you are struggling with yourself or you are seeking to help others, you’ll find Graham’s wisdom invaluable.

There’s a bit of desert out there in Christian thinking on the area of self-image. Often the advice falls into one of two camps. Either the L’Oréal camp, ‘you’re worth it’ (because Jesus thinks you’re special), or the Pond Scum camp, ‘you’re a nasty, unworthy sinner’ – neither of which really shows the balance of Scripture, and neither of which really helps us to have a healthy view of ourselves. I hope you’ll find Mirror, Mirror an oasis, as I did. Graham has a pastor’s heart. He loves the people he cares for in his church (you’ll see that in each and every chapter) and he loves God’s life-giving word. He’ll help you discover a refreshing and biblical framework about what it means to be truly human.

You’ll find his concept of ‘humble dignity’ can be applied to all sorts of situations – whether you are having a ‘fat day’ as you go through the wardrobe like a woman possessed, or you’re avoiding talking to a friend about a difficult issue. It’s a concept that helps us live and breathe 24/7 what it means to be ‘in Christ’, and not just on a Sunday.

So, whether you are looking to help others in their discipleship, wanting to start thinking more deeply about this area, or you want to find some personal applications for yourself,get reading.You might even change your profile picture . . .

Linda Marshall UCCF Midlands Team Leader

PREFACE

It all started with a phone call from Mike who worked in student ministry. He wanted me to do a training day for some of his staff and the topic he had chosen was self-image. ‘But Idon’t know anything about self-image,’ I protested. ‘But it’s really important,’ he argued. He went on to explain that he’d asked his staff for the most common topics they ended up talking to students about, or areas where they thought students struggled. The top two were relationships and self-image. ‘And we’ve got some good books and material on relationships, but nothing on self-image,’ he went on.

And so I ended up studying the Bible on self-image, and reading as widely as I could on the topic. I found it fascinating. I quickly realized it wasn’t simply about helping people who might have a low self-image; that was only scratching the surface. It was much more about our identity, who we think we are, and who we really are in Christ. And I started to see loads of implications for how we should live and think of ourselves as a result.

I finally presented a day’s seminar on the topic. My thinking had changed even by the end of that day. And my thinking continued to develop as I read more, thought more, discussed more, and did some more seminars. The end result (so far) is contained in these pages. ...