You are a MODEL!

@stburnish

Model {mod-l}: "A small object, usually built to scale, that represents in detail another, often larger object." 

Have you ever come across (be it on TV or actual contact) an expensive artwork that just did not look like it was worth the price placed on it? Every day, many thousands of dollars are spent on one-of-a-kind’s that may not seem appealing at all to the average man. With wrinkled hands, a strange woman in a little village somewhere stooped into dirty earth and mud in order to bring forth a creation – one that ended up costing so much that it could only be owned by nation states.

Many of these artworks only cost so much for one of two major reasons: on the one hand, it may have to do with the renown of the artist who created the work, while on the other hand, it almost always has to do with the originality of the product, the fact that it is the only one. Do you realize that God feels the same way about you?

Our individuality makes every one of us a model – an extraordinary masterpiece – fully representing God in our looks and functionality. Regardless of how your nose, ears, mouth or eyes are, you are the only one of you that God has, created to “model” Him. God was well aware of your looks before He boldly declared that you were made in His image and likeness – to look and act like Him. Our value is not in how appealing we look in comparison to the other person; our value relies on the fact that we cannot truly be compared with anyone else. You are in a class of your own; you have no real competition, because no one looks, acts, thinks, talks or is created exactly like you. You are the only you God ever had and will ever have.

Even in this season where everyone is seeking to lose a few pounds here and there and a great number of people are also looking to gain a few pounds, you should never forget that you are a model. You model God, a different dimension of Him that no one ever saw before. Of course, you may have done some things to the exterior of the model that is “you,” but don’t be mad at yourself. You have God in you to show you how to get your model to the optimal standard, but you MUST start by believing that you are one-of-a-kind, not to be compared with anyone else.

For a while, I tried so hard to lose a few pounds in order to get to a certain BMI that I felt would be healthier, but the more I tried, the more it failed. When I gave up on my own ability to make it happen and started enjoying liberty through the Spirit of God, He Himself taught me habits that caused me to get to a weight that did not just look great on the scale but felt good on me. I have learned to never measure how “good-looking” I am in comparison to anybody else. I am the best looking ME there could possibly be, so I walk with my shoulders square, knowing God is proud to show me off to the world – a truly divine, handsome, rich, healthy, blessed and favored representation of HIM!

How Beautiful Are You?

“Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined” [Psalm 50:2]

I remember being on a bus some time ago, and the Spirit of God began to make some things clear to me that I will try as much as possible to explain in this post; I look forward to seeing your response to the subject!

Have you ever thought to yourself that how exactly is beauty measured? Another good question will be who sets those standards? Is it not interesting that what is considered beautiful in one nation may be regarded as the exact opposite just a few miles away from that territory? From that simple observation, it is easy to come to the conclusion that there is no generic idea of what beauty is. In fact, we are trained to recognize and respond to certain qualities that we eventually consider ‘beautiful’ or ‘attractive’ in others. Through observation, young children begin at a very young age to appreciate certain qualities and abhor some others. Hardly do you see a very young child who discriminates based on some of the subtle physical qualities that adults dislike or want in ourselves or others.

Knowing that man’s understanding of beauty is in a sense not reliable since it is based on standards created by cultural ideologies, we should go on to find out what God’s idea of beauty is. But, before we even get to that, many of us at some point have met people that had all the qualities that the world considers beautiful, yet it was hard to appreciate those qualities possibly because of those people’s characters. On the other hand, you may have also met the “not-so-model” person that you just considered most beautiful for reasons you may have not even been able to explain at the time.

True beauty is a quality of the human spirit. Jesus said something striking to the Pharisees of His day: “ye are like whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness” [Matt. 23:27]. The jewelry, apparel, fragrances, and everything else we wear can only be any good if the man of the inside – the real us – is beautiful. When you got a small cut somewhere on your body, the cut did not change your name, your environment, or your disposition to life in general. That is because the real gentleman or lady is on the inside. Before considering how to beautify the body that houses you, consider beautifying you first.

Certain things make an ‘ugly’ spirit, with which you can never really be appreciated by yourself, let alone others. Some of such things are anger, bitterness, pride, fear, and envy. For as long as you hold people in your heart for revenge or never to forgive, you are more or less carrying “dead men’s bones” around; there is no way you will appear beautiful to anyone including yourself. Get to God’s Word; accept the person of Jesus Christ. Allow the Word of God [in the Bible] to teach you how to put love, joy, and grace in your heart so much that you cannot go by unnoticed anywhere you go, because that is the way Jesus was and is. Be humble, appreciate others with a simple “thank you” as many times as they do good to you. Never consider “sorry” as a word only used by the weak, because the most beautiful people on earth use it a lot. Care to join them?

The word ‘winsome’ is a word that perfectly describes that person that’ll be considered most beautiful by God Himself and the world. It means “charming, often in a child-like or naïve way”; what that means is that your words always build those around you up. It means you are not so quick to conceive a conspiracy-theory of how the whole world is against you. You believe and expect the best of others. And, you come to everyone expecting to find something loveable in them. Have you ever seen children fight? They hardly ever have to apologize before they are back playing together. Jesus said “let the children come to me and don’t try to stop them! People who are like these children belong to God’s kingdom!” [Matt. 19:14] Nobody can ever know God as much as a ‘winsome’ heart can.

This kind of character is what God desires in you, and its rewards far outweigh the fear you may have of being trampled upon with a character like that. Yes, people may try to take advantage of you, but as long as you maintain that character, God will see to it Himself that He continually promotes you far above them. You’ll never be at a loss or disadvantage; someone may take something away from you physically, but what is it compared to God’s grace that helps you acquire all things? But, who can exhibit that character except one that belongs in God’s house – Zion – out of which God shines all of His beauty.

If you are a Christian, true beauty is on the inside of you. It only needs to shine more brightly; if it has been shining before, exhibit more of the same character that made it shine at first, and it will shine so brightly that kings [notable people in the world] will come to the brightness of it [Isaiah 60:2-3].  Henceforth, stand up tall, square your shoulders, and walk like the king or queen that you are [Revelations 1:6]. You may not have the best eyes, nose, legs, height, or weight by societal standards but Jesus considered you beautiful enough to pay with His own life for your freedom and life. Respect the blood of Jesus by appreciating everything about yourself, because God knew those things were there and loved you all the same.

Let us know how beautiful you are in your comment; but, in the mean time, enjoy this video!

True Patriotism

“Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.” [Psalm 50:2]

The famous Apostle Paul wrote extensively about a new creation, a heavenly Jerusalem, and a family on earth and in heaven, to which every Christian has been called. Time and space will fail me to list the scriptural verses where those thoughts were shared, but I advice that you take a look at Hebrews 12:22-23; in it, the Apostle further expressed that there’s a new ‘nation’ to which we believers have been called. For more on Zion, take a look at my blog post titled ‘Peace within our borders’; you’ll be blessed by it.

Zion is the city of God – a spiritual Israel, and we have been called to be citizens of it. In this post, I will not be discussing the benefits of life in Zion. Rather, my desire is to challenge us to see Zion as beautiful. The strongest nations in the world are built by indoctrination; citizens are taught that their nation is the greatest. The term ‘nation’ in itself has strength in it that means much more than geographical boundaries. As I was very adequately taught by Rev. Chris Oyakhilome, a state or country can only be referred to as a nation when its citizens have a common vision and speak one language [or have one mind].

The opening scripture shows us how God feels about Zion; it is the perfection of beauty. He wants us to be indoctrinated; God wants us to know that there is no nation or country in the earth greater than ours. Yet, many of us are consumed by a love for our earthly nations at the expense of a love for Zion. In Romans 9:8, the Bible says "they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed." To be a child of the flesh is to be carnal enough to primarily identify one's self by physical or earthly nationality. In Romans 9:8, Paul shows us two types of children - those of the flesh and those of the promise. The 'promise' here refers to God's Word. Do you see that your origin is from God's word? Or, do you still identify first as Nigerian, American, British, South African, Korean, or Australian? If you are a Christian, that should not be the case.


This topic is so important, because our earthly nations have become more beautiful to many of us than Zion. We identify as Ugandan Christians, Brazilian Christians, and the likes instead of ‘just being Christians’. In our churches, some of us even form factions based on ethnicity or nationality. There are ‘Black’ people who will not attend ‘White’ churches and vice versa. I put the words Black and White in quotes, because in reality, once you become a Christian, you are neither White nor Black; you are a new creation [Galatians 3:28].

Learn to appreciate Zion TODAY! See Jesus in the eyes of every Christian, whether or not they speak your earthly language. Embrace them like you would Jesus if He lived in your house. Like Abraham [under God’s instruction] abandoned his earthly kindred, abandon yours also for Zion. This does not mean that you should not still love your earthly nation. It only means you should love Zion more. If someone asked you “where are you from?” let your answer first be Zion. Or, say to the person “do you mean in the flesh or in the spirit?” Either way, the person’s answer may lead to an opportunity to share Jesus with them.

If God Almighty could shine out of Zion, then you should be proud of your citizenship in this beautiful country!