7 January | Youth
«And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.» Genesis 2:25
The Bible says that Adam and Eve were naked before the fall and knew no shame. We were not created to have this feeling. On the contrary, God made us pure and blameless.
The matter of identity depends on how we see ourselves and deal with our bodies and sexuality. Awareness of sexuality is an especially important aspect in the formation of identity. Our struggle is to accept our physical characteristics, such as height, weight, or muscle mass.
Some live trapped in a stereotype imposed by the media: they feel ashamed of the shape of their nose, the color of their hair or the size of their feet, which generates compensatory needs (anxiety about their appearance, for example). Some cannot put their emotions into words and end up using their body as an experience field.
The Bible says that we were created in God’s image. The Greek word for image is eikon, from which the word “icon” also comes. You are a reflection, a kind of icon of the Creator, molded in His image.
If you were the enemy and wanted to blemish God’s image, what would you do? The devil does not want you to remember your origin. He wants to separate you from God, leading you to build an identity different from the one the Father gave you. The enemy's desire is to take us away from the center of God's will to generate shame, guilt and condemnation in us.
The enemy only has one plan: kill, steal and destroy. He is doing it now. He tries to destroy the image of God in humanity by gradually fragmenting our identity. He tries to make teenagers and adults mutilate their own bodies, attempt suicide, or turn to prostitution.
In order for this situation to be reversed, the most important thing to do is recognize our importance in God's creative process. Augustine of Hippo once said: “We cannot be ashamed to speak of what God was not ashamed to create!” You were created by God. Always remember this. And do not allow anything or anyone to devalue your identity.