Body Image

The Body Part 2: Embodied Living

TARA GIBBS|CONTRIBUTOR Have you heard the word “embodied” being used more in the last few years? If asked to define that word a few years ago, I would have defined it “represents” or “lives out” as in, “She embodies the values of her home church.” But people are talking a lot more these days about a different definition of embodiment, one that addresses what it means to inhabit our physical bodies. As we observe our culture today, we see more and more confusion about how much our physical body defines who we are. Modern culture seems increasingly inclined to separate identity from our physical reality. It is not uncommon today for someone to decide who they are by how they “feel,” divorced from the physical reality of their bodies. As Christians, we must continue to consider, “Do our physical bodies and what we do with them matter to God?”...

Let’s Talk About Bodies

TARA GIBBS|CONTRIBUTOR How often do you think about your body? Constantly? Occasionally? Almost never? Some of us think about our bodies non-stop, often with shame: “My body is too fat,” “My body is too old,” “My body is too short,” “My body is too this or too that.” “I’ve got to get this body to the gym!” Most of us would agree we don’t need to spend our lives obsessing over whether we have an Instagram-influencer-worthy body, but that doesn’t mean we don’t struggle. Others of us may think bodies shouldn’t matter. They are earthly “tents” that are passing away, or they are “the flesh” we are to subdue. Perhaps we think our bodies are shameful. Sometimes we might think the solution to our body problems is to realize that bodies are unimportant. But is that what the Bible teaches about bodies? It can feel confusing to know how God wants us to think about our bodies. What is too much? What is too little? Are bodies spiritual or are bodies unspiritual?...