Before and After Photos
Linda Guy
We have all seen 'before and after' shots of people in advertisements for weight loss programs. A photo before the program shows an overweight, flabby body while the after-program shot reveals a slim, trim and beaming body. One ad. I recently saw had such a women exclaiming 'my husband has fallen in love with me again.' I must say, I have often wondered what the 'after after' photo looks like. According to some statistics only 5% maintain the weight loss. So, only 5% maintain the image that remains in our minds (and only 5% of husbands remain in love with their wives?).Linda Guy
How does abiding in Christ apply to weight loss, overeating and being fat? It is a question many ask. Mike Wells has written some good articles on the subject, but I want to address this question: who is qualified to answer? Do I need to be able to show a 'before and after' photo to be qualified to speak on the subject? Do we need to validate that the abiding life message works for weight loss, or for that matter, for other areas of our lives?
Many look for others who will testify and give a snapshot portrait of their life before abiding. The 'before photo' is one of being overcome by sin, no victory, addictions, or a bad marriage. They then want to see the 'after portrait' ;one of freedom from sin, of perfect marriages and relationships; of victory; and even of weight loss and health.In other words, some believers see 'abiding in Christ' as a program, or a method, and they seek assurance that this program will do for them what other programs and methods have failed to do. And before commitment is made to the program, they look for a guarantee that it will work. This raises several issues.
The first is that the goal of abiding in Christ is not victory, perfect relationships or even freedom from addictions. The goal of abiding is Christ. Victory is not a goal; it is the result of living by faith in any moment in the awareness of the presence of Jesus. His life is victorious over all; so in each moment that we abide, His victory is ours.
Secondly, there is a no one-time fix. Abiding today does not 'fix us' once and for all. Once and for all Christ died for sin, once and for all we are dead to sin in Him, once and for all we have a new nature, but always and always in this life we have the flesh remaining in our body and soul. The flesh is the mind, will and emotions under the control of something other than Christ. Our flesh never improves. It cannot be subtracted from to improve it, it can only ever be added to.
So, even if a person abides moment by moment in Christ's self-control and love, and does not overeat, thereby losing weight, what happens if they, in unbelief, move back into the flesh? No believer abides perfectly. Wrong eating (or another fleshly behaviour) then again occurs, and the body very quickly displays the consequences.
I am not making excuses for not abiding, for self-indulging, or for being unhealthy.My point is that we simply cannot look at a person's outward appearance, and judge whether or not they are living in the presence of Jesus and abiding. Some may be surprised that a teacher of the abiding life has gained weight. Why would you be? I do not know why any particular person has gained weight; but does seeing an abiding believer gain weight, or sin, or have relationship difficulties, or return to their addictions, discourage us to the point that we become disillusioned? If we see abiding as simply a teaching, a program or a method, then it will.
Abiding is a relationship, our living relationship with the Vine. Fruit must naturally come; and the glory of God is revealed in our bodies. It is in our mind, will, emotions and body that we partake of and display His life. As we look to Him to meet our emotional desires for love and acceptance, as His Will satisfies our inner most being, craving for food, and fleshly behaviour, decreases. We are full of Him. His life frees us from our flesh.
We do need a gospel of hope; a gospel that works and is practical in our daily lives. God's word makes it clear that if we say we abide, we are to walk as Christ did, and reveal Him. Christ walked in absolute dependence on the Father, and so must we. His life only flows in our weakness. As we yield the members of our body to Him as instruments of His life, His priority in our lives may not be ours. He desires to move us into dependence and faith, to set us free from our pride and image. If to accomplish this, He permits us to struggle with eating habits and weight, relationship problems or even addictions; then we need to yield to Him, and thank Him that in all things He is working.
As we take our focus off ourselves, and look to Him to satisfy, then our success is not in 'before and after', but in His peace, joy, love and humility flowing through us. You will be disappointed if you constantly look at others' before, after, and after-after photos. What is in the Spirit can take time to work out in changes in the body and personality, and only then as the believer lives from the Spirit. However, I can testify to you that in every moment I am focused on Jesus, I am free from being controlled by my fleshly behaviour. His peace, love and joy are displayed.
For me, that is enough. Is it enough for you?