The King and His Image-Bearer’s Choice

Part 2

In my last post, I talked about why, as daughters of the King, we would want to be modest. (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20)

When we surrender our lives to God, He asks us for all. Is that too much to ask? Think of Jesus’ sacrifice; He gave everything: Heaven’s glory, being born as a helpless baby into a poor family; He had nowhere to lay His head. His followers badgered, betrayed, and denied Him. And then He bore the shame of a cruel death, with all the sin of the entire race heaped upon Him.

When we accept that free gift of salvation, our hearts overwhelm with gratitude, and we are filled with a deep reverence for God and desire to obey Him. If we say, “Yeah, thanks, God,” and then go on serving ourselves, we throw that gift of the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives to make us more like Jesus, right back at our King.

But when we follow Christ, read His Word, talk to Him regularly throughout the day, listen for His still small voice in our conscience, we believe what He has told us about ourselves… (“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, You are bought with a price, You are a chosen generation…”) Just read your Bible over and over and soak up what God says to You!

As our love for our King grows, we know that God is what He says He is, (love, truth, good, faithful, a gentle shepherd…) and so our desire grows to look to Him instead of the world for our cues, for our approval, for our praise, and to have our desires met.

So how does God want His girls to dress? I guess I’m primarily writing to ladies. If you are a guy reading this you are welcome, but a modesty article for you is for another time and place. Can I give you a small, kind hint though? We want you to be modest, too. Please don’t make us have to look at you in the current skin-tight, two-sizes-too-small clothes. The truth is: we’re more grossed out than turned on.

So, for us ladies, when we read 1 Peter 3:1-6, 1 Timothy 2, 3:11, and Titus 2:1-5, we see some commands that our King gives specifically for women. And then we think about how we are going to dress.

Modesty has to do with our heart and our spirit. I won’t go into that in detail because you are going to get another post on that. But when King Jesus is flowing out of our lives, it is going to affect how we view our body and how we clothe it.

Is your body evil? Did God make a mistake when He first created Eve and her lovely body? Why was she naked, yet today we are concerned with clothing our bodies?

Time for a history lesson. Go back to the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve are basking in an unadulterated, pure, holy relationship with God, naked and unashamed. When God made them, He pronounced them very good. I hope you are connecting the dots that He created YOU very good also.

But, when Eve was deceived by the serpent, Satan, and she and Adam, out of the desire for knowledge that Satan convinced Eve God was keeping from them, ate the fruit of the tree that they had been forbidden to eat, immediately their relationship with God was severed. Suddenly, they knew they were naked, and they did their best to find something, anything, to cover themselves before God would find all this out.

Why did they suddenly realize they were naked? Before, they only knew of a pure, holy, relationship with God. Now they were no longer innocent (think of an innocent toddler- are they self-conscious of their body? No.) Their sin brought shame, as sin always does.

Adam and Eve tried to hide their shame. They tried to cover themselves with fig leaves wrapped around their bodies. Yet still, their shame persisted, and when they heard God coming, the God that previously they had enjoyed such sweet fellowship with, they hid.

At the end of the evening’s interaction with God, He covered their shame by shedding animals’ innocent blood to make them coats of skin.

We have inherited the sin nature from Adam. God set the precedent for covering our bodies: not merely wrapping around our private areas like Adam and Eve tried to do, but a full covering for our bodies.

Our culture tells us to suggest, entice, and expose. But, as daughters of the King, we will desire for our clothing to cover, hide, and show restraint.

Tell me what you’re thinking, and stay tuned as we try to get practical on beauty and the heart of God.

Blogging credits to Wendy Weaver

Photography credits to Kinza and Ginger Weaver