Gary Thomas has entered a risky arena in his Every Body Matters. Many evangelicals voice considerable objection over the current cultural obsession with body image. Conversely, some Christians have fallen prey to the mindset that “image is everything.” In this book, Thomas adds his input in a way that brings us back to the center.
The premise is that God has given each of us only one body through which we live to the glory of God. Stewardship of this resource is as important as any other aspect of life. Thomas states his position clearly: “Whether you’re in your twenties, thirties, or forties – or facing your fifties, sixties, seventies, or beyond – one thing is certain: you’re doing it in a body, a body that not only contains a soul but affects your soul as well. We are not angels, pursuing God without physical covering, and if we try to pretend that we are – living as though the state of our bodies has no effect on the condition of our souls – all the proper doctrine in the world can’t save us from eating away our sensitivity to God’s presence or throwing away years of potential ministry if we wreck our heart’s physical home.”
The intent of this book is not to produce marathon runners (although Gary Thomas runs in marathons), bodybuilders, or swimsuit models. It is to encourage the Christian to seriously consider the totality of the individual created in God’s image.
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