September 8 -

The Lord your God will change your heart . . . so that you will love Him with all your heart and soul and so you may live! (Deuteronomy 30:6).

Mary (not her real name) is aged 32, and during her adult years she has undergone 25 private cosmetic operations to the cost of £165,000. Some of these operations were corrective but the majority were the result of Mary's dissatisfaction with her body shape and facial features.

Mary sounded confident, assured, and very pleased with her actions, but what struck me as I listened to her responding to questions from a radio DJ was just how insecure and inadequate she must be feeling deep down inside. What is lacking in her life and relationships that she feels the need to constantly seek 'perfection' under the surgeon's knife with all the risks entailed in every operation?

If Mary continues to build her identity on her body image, she will struggle with insecurity all her life. We can build our identity on our jobs, but we can lose our job. We can build our identity on how good-looking we think we are, but we may lose our good looks – we will all grow old one day. We can build our identity on the person we married, but he or she is going to die. We can build our identity on being popular, but we’re not always going to be popular.

Sooner or later this will dawn on Mary and she will realise that the only way to happiness is to base her identity on Jesus, understanding that he loves her unconditionally, that she is His - valuable, and He has a purpose and plan for her life.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:25, “The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in God protects you from that” (MSG).

What is needed is a heart transplant to give Mary and us a new perspective beyond the vanity and competitiveness of society. Fortunately, God specializes in them. We don’t have to find our identity in our job, bank account, good looks or relationships, because we find our identity in God. God gives a brand new heart and a brand new identity. It’s called salvation! Just reach out....

“He is Here” LIVE – Gaither vocal group. Click on the picture to listen.