While not addressing the issue directly, Scripture does hint at the latter response. After all, Jesus encountered the same crass commercialism in his day. During the Passover—what should have been a time of joyful celebration of God’s continuing faithfulness—he enters the Temple precincts and drives out those who were all too clearly worshiping Mammon instead (Mark 11:15-17). The connections to our contemporary celebration of Christmas seem too obvious to draw. But notice that he does not then abstain from commemorating Passover, but instead invests it with new, rich meaning when he celebrates the Last Supper with his disciples. Can we do the same?

If our purpose as parents is to teach our children as much about God as we can in the short time we have with them, can we afford to spurn such wonderful opportunities to do that—all in the name of pious asceticism? Paul said, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16). Here are opportunities to share something of God’s goodness and greatness in a way that speaks powerfully to children.

Consider Valentine’s Day, which passed by last week. Undoubtedly this holiday—like Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving—has descended into a pit of inanity and outright sin. But its simple message, uncorrupted by the world, proves biblical enough. To celebrate love—both human and divine—seems decidedly Christian. Why not redeem this holiday by teaching our children not about superficial, tawdry, spurious romantic love, but rather about the incomparable love of God—and the resultant love of Christians for one another? Our daughter, age three, loves Valentine’s Day because, like most kids, she loves celebrations. But the message she heard was the Lord’s: “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). I would not want to miss an opportunity like that.

Scripture enjoins celebration (Exodus 23:15-16; Esther 9:28; Psalm 145:7; Luke 15:23). Throughout her history, Israel celebrated—occasionally wildly—God’s remarkable faithfulness (e.g. Exodus 15:1-21; 1 Kings 8:62-66). Let us take advantage of these days of celebration to dazzle our children with God’s goodness and grace. That is the power of redemption, not retreat.

Many evangelicals rightly responded with joy when the decision came to cut support. Planned Parenthood has been at the forefront of abortion-rights activism since its inception. Its founder, Margaret Sanger, held to an unconscionable vision of eugenics closely akin to that of Adolf Hitler, and declared openly that she supported abortion as a means to limit the African American population. (Her vision, I might add, has largely been realized, as more African American pregnancies end in abortion than birth.) More than sixty million children have died in this socially acceptable holocaust—in large part because of the work of Planned Parenthood and similar organizations. As evangelicals we cannot—and should not—support any institution so wholly committed to a modern slaughter of innocents.

But there is another issue—and one we too often overlook. Abortion accounts for only 3% of the services Planned Parenthood provides. Other services include breast-cancer screening and contraception for many impoverished women.[1] Providing for the basic needs of the poor and marginalized remains an indispensable outworking of the gospel for the church today. In our righteous zeal to see Planned Parenthood defunded and ultimately defunct, have we given sufficient thought as to who will provide these services now? Have we begun providing them ourselves?

If we were doing what we should be doing—if we had the same commitment to living the gospel visibly and tangibly among the poor that the early church did—perhaps our political battles would be less needlessly acrimonious and sadly abortive.

A few examples may prove the point.

Evangelicals often speak of “accepting Christ” when describing the conversion experience. The human-centeredness of this language notwithstanding (cf. Acts 13:48), there are other serious drawbacks to these extra-biblical words. Presumably one would only have to accept Christ one time (the moment when we “get saved”). This leads to errors in evangelism especially, trying to get people to “pray the prayer” or “walk the aisle”—as if these had saving significance—rather than calling them to lives of repentance and belief, as Jesus did (cf. Mark 1:15). The greatest danger in speaking of accepting Christ is the false assurance it brings. One might “accept Christ” in the flesh for a time, but fail to repent and believe genuinely. Such people do not need to hear false assurance—“once saved, always saved”—but instead need to be called to true repentance and faith. This is not a one-time choice, but lifestyle decisions: a daily dying to self and living in and for Christ. That is biblical.

Or consider a less common example. Recently I have had several conversations with colleagues at the school where I serve about professionalism among the staff. Already issues arise, as professionalism is not a biblical term. The assumption seems to be that we should be striving for excellence professionally because we are working as for the Lord (Colossians 3:23). Now, it may be that working for the Lord will drive us to excellence, but is the connection self-evident? Are striving for excellence and professionalism better terms to use than biblical counterparts? I suspect not. As Christians we are called to obey our masters (which corresponds pretty nearly to employers) with “sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord” (Colossians 3:22). While this sort of faithful service and professionalism undoubtedly overlap at several points, they are hardly coterminous. Professionalism and striving for excellence may carry with them humanistic notions of workaholism, idolatry, perfectionism, at least in the minds of some Christian professionals. To these we are not called. But to faithful service—to work with integrity, wholeheartedly as for the Lord himself—we are most certainly. We may eliminate much of the confusion by using precise biblical language rather than the language of the lost and idolatrous.

Closely related to this problem is the tendency to use biblical language unbiblically. Again, abuses abound. For example, many times I have heard Christians pray, “Lord, we declare healing for this person today.” We may cast aside the issue of guaranteed healing for the moment and focus instead on the word “declare”—a transparently biblical term, with almost five hundred occurrences in the NIV. The assumption seems to be that we may declare God’s promises over someone’s life in order to claim them. But this is not how this word is used in Scripture. The overwhelming majority of occurrences appear in the phrase “declares the LORD”—not in the declaration of his people. When his people do declare something, it is uniformly the goodness of God or the truths of his gospel (e.g., Psalm 96:3; Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 2:7; Galatians 5:6; Ephesians 6:20). We plead with God in prayer, seeking his will and purposes (cf. Mark 14:36; 1 John 5:14-15); we do not claim uncertain promises with undue authority.

At another time I read a prayer letter from a fellow missionary asking for greater “anointing” on her ministry. Presumably this missionary wished to have greater empowerment from the Spirit in her service for the kingdom. But this is not how the term is used biblically. The only New Testament occurrences come in 1 John 2:20-27. (The other instance, in Hebrews 1:9, is a quote from the Psalter.) The term there refers unambiguously to the Holy Spirit received at conversion. Indeed, the contrast drawn in these verses is between those who are genuinely in Christ and those who are not. All Christians have received the same anointing—an important point to make considering the tendency to establish a two-tier Christianity. It would have been far better had our missionary used the language of Ephesians 5:18—being “filled with the Spirit”—which expresses our need to be in step and empowered by his presence repeatedly, continuously in our lives.

I could multiply examples, of course, but hopefully this lends clarity to the importance of using biblical language biblically. We do not want to misuse the Word of God, nor do we want to neglect it in favor of a secular counterfeit. We want our words to honor him and edify one another. Precision in our speech reflects precision in our thinking—a worthy aspiration. “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).

Hush, Little Baby

Hush, little baby, don’t say a word

Mama’s going to dilate her cervix so you can be scraped and dismembered

And if that knife makes you fuss

Mama’s going to insert a suction tube to vacuum you off her uterus

And if that tube is clogged with grime

Mama’s going to snap your spine and crush your skull, pulling you out a piece at a time

And if those forceps flinch when you grin

Mama’s going to inject saline into her womb to poison you, bursting your brain and burning off your skin

And if that salt stings your eye

Mama’s going to take prostaglandin to deliver you prematurely, then watch under the delivery room lights as you are left to die

And if those lights seem too garish

Mama’s going to slice open her stomach, rip you out and wait patiently for you to perish

And if she’s scared the scalpel will hurt her

Mama’s going to give birth to you, except the doctor is going to plunge scissors into your skull just before you arrive and then suck out your brains so that it doesn’t count as murder

But if his thorn can’t pierce your crown

You’ll still be the sweetest little baby in town

My friend had spent the past few weeks speaking with a group of missionaries from a decidedly post-Christian nation. These missionaries were lamenting the state of the nation, giving as an example a recent church retreat at which half the attendees shacked up in cabins with their respective boyfriends or girlfriends. Bad enough that so many church members would be engaging in extramarital sex; far worse that they would feel free to do so at a time of ostensible devotion, under the watching eye of the church.

Sadly, our story does not end here. Speaking to my friend, one of the missionaries remarked, “I’m just learning not to judge. Things are different here.”

Culturally sensitive, perhaps—but nothing about this approach is biblical, Christian or even loving.

Real love—of the sort Christ offered the Pharisees, tax collectors, prostitutes, etc.—calls sin what it is. And then it calls those trapped in the deceitfulness and living death of sin to new life in Christ. Refusing to pass judgment on sin is refusing to preach the gospel. The bad news of sin is part of the good news of grace.

Remember, God has already spoken judgment on sin. A day is coming when he will manifest that judgment in a display of righteous, awful wrath. It is not love to hide this message from those on whom it will fall. Love the nations enough to call them out of the darkness of sin into his marvelous light of grace.

Call sin, sin. Then speak life and love.

We must tread very carefully here. Any discussion of culture merits caution, especially in light of the rampant and very real racism the world over. We must adopt the attitude of the cross—crucifying our pride, self-righteousness, hatred, prejudice—whenever we approach the issue. There is a fine, spiritually discerned line between judgmental hypocrisy and loving judgment. The former is despicable, roundly condemned in Scripture (cf. Matthew 7:1-2); the latter is commanded of Christ’s followers (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:12).

With this latter attitude, undoubtedly the approach of the apostle Paul, we can and should seek to discern sins common to the (sub-)culture in which we minister. This is merely a tangible acknowledgment of the doctrine of total depravity. All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory; no one seeks God, not even one (3:23, 10-11). This means that there are no neutral cultures in the world—and certainly no holy cultures. All are depraved.

No wonder, then, that Paul feels free to state the particular sinful inclinations of the Cretan culture with such bluntness. The sins of the Cretan culture were well known to the whole world. In fact, in the Greek language, “to Cretanize” meant “to lie.”[1] Perhaps this expression was offensive, but it contained truth within it. In order for Titus to minister effectively among the Cretans, he had to recognize the sinful tendencies of the culture and address them graciously by the gospel of Christ. This was his charge as shepherd of a wayward flock.

Nothing has changed for us today. Cultures are more complicated because the world is getting smaller, but we can still discern common failings among large groups of people. Americans, for example, give in to pride and materialism—even within the church—with alarming regularity. I can say this without fear of reprisal because I am an American and recognize these same sinful tendencies within myself. But having lived in Colombia for more than six years, I could also list the sins of my host culture with ease. Would this be prejudice or racism? Certainly not. I would consider myself ill-equipped to minister here (or anywhere) if I were unable or unwilling to “judge” a culture as incisively as Paul had Crete.

Excursus on Prejudice

Because the issue is so sensitive, and because the potential for misunderstanding is so great, I want to spend a moment delimiting the differences between sinful prejudice and loving judgment when it comes to alien (sub-)cultures. I can think of at least four major differences between the two.

1. Sinful prejudice reflects an attitude of pride, not of cross-centered humility. The prejudiced sit in gleeful judgment of cultures they see as below their own, proving they know little—if anything—of Calvary love. Rarely will they acknowledge sins endemic to their own culture.
2. Sinful prejudice is driven by hate, not love. In other words, where loving judgment seeks to expose sinful tendencies in order to meet them with the gospel, sinful prejudice merely looks on with satanic disdain.
3. Sinful prejudice assumes every individual within a culture is the same. The prejudiced treat individuals as members of the group, not as unique image-bearers who require individual attention and love, a proclamation of the gospel tailored to their own lives. For example, though I believe Americans generally struggle with materialism, the most generous family I have ever known—by far—is American. It would be wrong of me to assume them materialistic simply because they come from the United States.
4. Sinful prejudice delights in irrelevant phenomenological distinctions. Culture has nothing to do with physical appearance; it has to do with the values, norms, beliefs, etc. of a given group of people—usually driven by geographical proximity only. The dark-skinned Colombians I know have far more in common with light-skinned Colombians than they do with dark-skinned Americans, for example.

As a final caveat, we should remember that Paul, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gave God’s perspective on Crete in his letter to Titus. We cannot claim the same inspiration. Our judgment will frequently descend into jingoism and myopia, so whatever judgments we make must be made humbly, clung to tenuously. Love demands nothing less.

And our only purpose in discerning the sins of any culture must always be love.

When the ineluctable outcry swells, the simplest defense is to note that we are following after our Master. Jesus did not offer himself equally to everyone when he walked the earth. He had concentric circles of depth. To the crowds he scattered occasional seed (compare Mark 4:1-9 with 4:10-12); to others he shared brief, passing moments only (cf. Mark 5:18-19). Though others followed him throughout his ministry, were with him from the beginning (cf. Acts 1:21-23), he chooses twelve only to be his disciples. And even of those twelve, he devotes especial time to three—Peter, James, and John (cf. Mark 9:2).

One can only imagine the petty jealousy that must have been felt from time to time. Why James and not Matthew? Why Judas and not Matthias? Did the disciples respond with snickers and snide comments when Jesus called Peter the rock? Such puerility was not beneath them (cf. Mark 10:35-37, 41). And yet, the apparent unfairness notwithstanding, this is the course Christ chose.

Each of those men went on to make disciples of their own; did they follow in their Master’s footsteps? Peter had Mark, if tradition is correct; Paul had Timothy and Titus; John had Polycarp and Ignatius. They knew that the kingdom of God would expand not by spreading ourselves too thin, but by building deeply into a few men or women at a time—who could turn around and make disciples of their own.

So must it be with us. We build into the few in order to reach the many. We make disciples who make disciples who make disciples (ad infinitum). Remember, especially when you face complaint and accusation, if Christ had been “fair,” none of us would be here in the church today.

1. Set a specific time—ideally the same time every day. I believe there is real wisdom in setting aside the first part of your day for this time of intimacy with God. As I’ve suggested elsewhere, the Scriptures seem to commend the practice of rising early to meet with the Lord.
2. Choose a specific place—again, ideally the same place every day. Having a place set aside will help you to stay focused in your time.
3. Start with a small amount of time (ten or fifteen minutes) and slowly work your way up as you become more disciplined. I would even suggest setting a timer if you are just beginning—perhaps five minutes for reading the Word and five minutes for prayer.
4. Ask God to give you the discipline and persistence you will need.
5. Keep the purpose—to grow closer to God and in godliness—in your mind always. Just as practicing scales on a piano takes on new significance when you hear the sonata you hope to play someday, so picturing the relationship you hope to have with God will give meaning to these times. This shouldn’t be mere ritual.

The two essential components of your time with God are prayer and time in the Word. There are many other fruitful disciplines, of course, such as fasting, solitude and silence, and meditation. But to begin, focus on these two essential disciplines. Here are some suggestions for these two activities.

Prayer

1. Keep a prayer journal so that you maintain focus in prayer. You are far less likely to let your thoughts wander if you are writing as you pray. Keeping a prayer journal also gives you a record of God’s faithfulness in hearing and answering prayer.
2. Keep prayer lists so that you know what to pray for. You should pray for your family, friends, self, school or work, church, country, and leaders regularly. Keeping a list of individuals in each category will give you focus. You will soon find you have more to pray for than time in which to pray! (You might also consider praying for a different “category” each day of the week: family on Monday, friends on Tuesday, political leaders on Wednesday, etc.)
3. Pray through Scripture to ensure you are praying God’s will and learning from the example of prayer warriors in God’s Word.
4. Take time to listen to God. Make sure the conversation isn’t a one-way street. Include a time of silence in which God can speak to you.

The Word

1. If you haven’t already, try a yearly Bible-reading plan. For some suggested plans and other information, see “Reading through the Bible.”
2. Reading through the Bible in a year can be difficult. If you fall far behind, start over at the current date and try again. Remember which days you missed, and try to read them when you have extra time. But always being behind can lead to discouragement and ultimately giving up. Don’t quit! Pick up on the right day and press on.
3. Read the Bible with a pen in hand. That is, don’t settle for just reading the Word; study it.
4. When doing study, start with the “then and there”questions: what did this passage mean in its original context? A good study Bible will help you enormously in this regard.
   • Who are the people in this passage?
   • What is happening in this passage?
   • Where and when is this passage taking place?
   • What is the main idea of this passage?
   • Look at key words, structure, emphasis, repetition, tone, genre, and the relationship between ideas (such as cause and effect, questions and answers, etc.).
5. Then ask the “here and now” questions: what does this passage mean for me today?
   • Do I need to change my thoughts, words, or actions in light of this passage?
   • Is there truth I need to accept, where before I had clung to a lie?
   • Are there promises to believe? warnings to heed? examples to follow?
   • How should this passage change my relationship with God and/or others?

Meeting with God every day is an expression of our love for him and our desire to know him more. We do not meet with him because we should; we meet with him because we long to. He alone has the words of eternal life (John 6:68); in his hands alone are found pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11). Start today—and enjoy the richness of fellowship with the Almighty God.

Why Read through the Bible in a Year?

Reading through the whole of Scripture regularly is an absolute necessity of the Christian life. I can think of at least three reasons why we should undertake this endeavor every year.

1. We are to receive strength for each day. Just as our bodies need food every day, so our souls need the nourishment of God’s Word. In the prayer Jesus taught us, we ask God, “Give us this day our daily bread.” And yet, doesn’t he say elsewhere, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4)? The bread we should hunger for most is the Word of God, of which we must daily partake.
2. We are to delight ourselves in his Word. A yearly Bible-reading plan is not a chore to be checked off our to-do lists, but an expression of our desire for intimacy with God. We long to hear his voice, as a wife longs for conversation with her husband. The psalmist expresses it thus: “I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word” (Psalm 119: 15-16). Is this the cry of your heart?
3. We are to understand the whole counsel of God. It is imperative that we know the whole of God’s Word thoroughly. Too often we settle for a few scattered verses known well and applied willy-nilly to every circumstance. This has dangerous consequences. I know of no heresy—ancient or modern—that does not spring from a right understanding of part of God’s Word only. Most moral error stems from the same neglect. The writer to the Hebrews felt this frustration with his wayward flock: “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!” (5:11-12). To know God’s Word fully ensures that we know all that he has to say on any given subject, and can rightly apply it to whatever vicissitudes we face.

The Dangers and Surpassing Benefits of a Bible-Reading Plan

Of course, this is not to say that Bible-reading plans do not come with pitfalls. The Scottish pastor Robert Murray M’Cheyne listed some in a letter to his congregation, before giving his reading plan (included below). These dangers include mere formality, in which reading becomes a lifeless duty; self-righteousness, when we impress ourselves with our outward piety; overhasty reading, when we read to finish reading and not to encounter God; and having the plan become a burden rather than a joy. And yet, M’Cheyne felt the benefits outweighed the potential dangers, which we might guard against. I agree.

What are the benefits? First, a Bible-reading plan guarantees that we read the entire Bible over the course of a year (or two). Without a plan in place, this is unlikely to happen. As few of us remember what Nahum has to say, though all of us would agree we should, we must ensure we read systematically through Scripture. Second, a guided tour of the Bible keeps us from having to choose what to read each day. If left to our own devices, we would likely choose beloved passages only (neglecting the whole counsel of God) or a shorter portion than is necessary. How often do we sit thumbing through the pages of our Bibles, waiting for some inspiration to stop us in our tracks? A Bible-reading plan provides the direction we need. Third, especially among families or groups of friends who are following the same plan, we enjoy greater spiritual conversation, as we are all equipped to discuss the same passages that day.

Some Excellent Plans

We are all different, and every year we will find ourselves in different places. Choose a plan that works for you—and that you believe you can handle for the coming year. Here are some excellent plans to consider.

1. Discipleship Journal’s 5x5x5 Bible Reading Plan: For those who are just beginning, this plan will take you through the New Testament only—in just five minutes, five days a week. A helpful tool (even if you are doing another plan) is the 5 Ways to Dig Deeper, ensuring that your reading is neither too hasty nor mindless.
2. Discipleship Journal’s Bible Reading Plan: My personal preference, this plan takes you through the whole Bible in one year, starting in four different places. The Old Testament readings tend to be longer, allowing you to spend more time in meditation on the shorter New Testament passages. For those who might fall behind, this plan rather helpfully has readings on only twenty-five days each month.
3. The Gospel Coalition’s For the Love of God Plan: Following Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s plan—once through the Old Testament, twice through the New Testament and Psalms each year, starting in four places—this plan also includes a wonderful, short devotional by D.A. Carson on the day’s readings. I highly recommend this plan, especially for veteran readers.
4. Heart Light’s Daily Light Reading Plan—New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs: Another shorter plan, this will guide you through the New Testament during the week, with readings in Psalms and Proverbs on the weekend. An excellent starter plan.
5. Heart Light’s Straight through the Bible Reading Plan: This plan takes you through the whole of the Bible in canonical order—Genesis to Revelation. While it has drawbacks—such as reading through laws and genealogies all at once—there is tremendous benefit to seeing the plan of God’s redemption unfold in history.
6. ESV’s Chronological Bible Reading Plan: An interesting approach, perfect for those who have been through the Bible a few times already, this plan takes you through Scripture chronologically rather than canonically. In other words, the prophets, psalms, letters, etc. are inserted at the correct moment into the narrative flow of God’s redemptive history.

Whatever plan you choose, I hope and pray it will be a great blessing to you, as you devote yourself to knowing God—and his Word—more completely this coming year.

This encouragement has broad implications for our lives, for training our minds to live by the revealed truth of God’s Word—and not the lies and falsehoods proclaimed so loudly by an erring world. Our adversary is, of course, the father of lies (John 8:44). And yet, it seems we often spend more time reflecting on his pronouncements than on the life-giving words of our gracious Father.

If we are to overcome this tendency, we must discipline our minds to know the truth thoroughly and think on it exclusively. Martin Luther says it memorably: “[Y]ou cannot read too much in Scripture, what you read you cannot read too carefully, what you read carefully you cannot understand too well.”[1] Knowing the truth thoroughly, thinking on it exclusively, will free us to live the abundant life Jesus offers. After all, it was only a few verses before Jesus calls Satan the father of lies that he said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

A few examples should suffice to show the freedom God’s truth—and disciplining ourselves to think only of it—can bring.

Many experience crippling fear and worry on a daily basis. Frequently this springs from the petrifying question, “What if…?” What if I lose my job? What if my spouse gets cancer? What if my child suffers harm? However steeped in reality these fears might seem, they are not truth. You have not lost your job. Your spouse does not have cancer. Your child has not suffered harm. They are hypotheticals, mere possibilities—and therefore not worthy of serious reflection. Of course, should any of these tragedies befall a Christian, God will provide grace for that time. But God does not give grace for what might be—only for what is.

Others look backward in time, but experience the same paralysis. Trapped in a quagmire of regret and remorse, they spend their time contemplating successive fantasies beginning with the deceptive phrase, “If only….” If only I had married a different person. If only I earned an extra $10,000 per year. If only I hadn’t committed that sin. Frequently this line of thinking leads to outright sin—thoughts that are not pure, lovely, excellent or praiseworthy. Imagining yourself married to another man or woman will lead to emotional unfaithfulness, for example. And once again, the trouble is that these thoughts simply are not true. You are already married to your spouse, and the commitment is until death. You make the amount of money you make, and that is sufficient for your daily bread. You did sin, but your forgiveness is complete in Christ Jesus—so complete, in fact, that even your guilty conscience has been cleansed by Christ (Hebrews 9:14).

Or take some temptations common to men and women. Men feel the need to prove their manhood by bettering themselves—and their competition. Success is the ultimate indicator of a life well lived, whether that be athletic achievement, financial gain, or career advancement. I believe this masculine urge stems from a desire to make ourselves feel worthy. Do I matter? Have I earned the air I’ve breathed today? Of course, God has answered these questions for us already. We know we matter because of the great lengths God has gone to rescue us from our deserved damnation. There is no need to prove ourselves. Knowing this, and thinking on it continuously, frees us from our false worship of the idol success—and frees us to worship God single-mindedly by carrying out the commission he has given us, even if it means halting our career advancement.

Fewer women find themselves driven by this need to become successful (though some do). Instead, women spend their time and energy trying to feel loved—giving themselves sexually to the undeserving, dressing immodestly or extravagantly to attract attention, even harming themselves irreparably in a ghastly attempt to keep themselves slender. Am I beautiful? Will anyone ever love me? Once again, God has already answered these questions graciously and tenderly. We are lovely because he loves us, beautiful because he made us (cf. Psalm 139:13-18). Knowing this, and thinking on it continuously, frees us from self-hatred, from looking for love in all the wrong places—and frees us to live modestly, chastely, contentedly in the light of God’s unfathomable love.

What thoughts occupy your reflection, whether conscious or not? Do you listen to the father of lies, bent only on destroying you? Or do you attend to the word of your gracious Father, who loves you perfectly and longs for you to live the abundant life he offers? “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. . . . And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8, 9).