A Cup of Grace – with a shot of espresso

Have you ever tried drawing a straight line? I’m not very good at it. I start off okay, but then my line incrementally gets off track. This isn’t terrible over the short distance of a piece of paper. However, if the distance becomes more significant, then being even slightly off can land me quite off target.

Pilots of both planes and boats have to constantly check to see that they are heading in the right direction. They can never take for granted that they are because there are so many factors that would push them off course.

The same is true in my thinking. I watched a reel the other day that helped me realign my some of my thoughts.  I want to pass on the lesson that I am trying to write on my own heart.

The overall message was that our bodies are gifts from God, and we can be grateful for all the things we are able to do with them.  The reel points out that our bodies are a temporary holding place for our eternal souls. I would add, and the temple of the Holy Spirit.

When we read about the consecration of the temple in the Old Testament, referring to our bodies as God’s temple takes on a much deeper meaning. Every part of the temple, every tool within it, was considered holy. The entire temple and all it contained was set apart to God. God took this so seriously that the penalty for defiling the temple in any way was death. An entire tribe of Israel was set aside for serving in and caring for the temple.

Jump forward into the New Testament. The Messiah, Jesus, has come. Christ served as the final, once for all sacrifice. The Holy of Holies for all of Jewish history had been cut off by a veil. This was where the presence of God resided throughout the OT. But on Jesus’ death, the veil of the Holy of Holies was torn top to bottom. The separation between God and man was eliminated.

But what does this mean to us, two thousand plus years later? Paul gives us the answer in I Corinthians. If you have accepted Christ’s sacrifice in your place, then your soul has been purchased by God. But Paul reminds us of what that means in I Corinthians 6:19-20.

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God? And you are not your own; for you were bought with a price: glorify God then in your body.”

What are the implications of that statement? First, our bodies are not inherently dirty or bad. (There are some who teach that.) Women in particular seem to struggle with having a positive perspective on our bodies. We seem to swing wildly between vanity and self-loathing. Neither is mentally OR spiritually healthy.

Second, we CAN and should glorify God in and with our bodies. Woven into this then is the understanding that how I care for this gift matters. Blessing my body with nourishing food, exercise, sleep, etc is a way of showing gratitude for the gift and care for the temple.  

This turns the motive of eating well and exercise on its head. These are not punishments – or even disciplines (in the sense of correction).  These are ways to bless the body I’ve been given. They are privileges.  It’s not I “have to exercise”. Rather, it is I get to choose what movement to bless my body with. It’s not I have to eat healthy. Rather it is “how can I best nourish my body so as to bless it? ” 

The why changes. I no longer eat or exercise to lose weight. I do these things because my body is precious. This form is designed as God saw fit for His purposes. Strengthening my body is a gift I can give it. Keeping it at a healthy weight is a gift I can give it. Nourishing it with good food and sleep are gifts I can give it.

THIS IS A PARADIGM SHIFT! 

This moves me from a critical attitude toward my body – always evaluating what I consider its flaws or shortcomings (and therefore MY flaws and shortcomings) – to an attitude of thanksgiving for what this body can do. I am able to delight in how God might choose to use it for His purposes. And if I am truly grateful for something, taking care of it well is an act of gratitude.   

Because this body is temporal, aging is a natural disintegration process. However, the modern conveniences of this time period have made it easier and easier for me to become lazy in the general upkeep of this body. I don’t have to move much to acquire food. I can also indulge in foods that are tasty but don’t nourish me well. Pursuing my cravings is very easy. Over time, ignoring the true needs of my body can have disastrous physical results. Those physical results are not isolated. The condition of the body is closely related to mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. Consider how an illness can result in an overall feeling of depression.

When you purchase a home, you have a blessing. However, that blessing requires upkeep that can be expensive or at least labor intensive.  Fail to do this maintenance, and the home  will literally disintegrate around your ears. Leaky pipes and roofs must be fixed. Water seepage in basements needs to be addressed. Sagging foundations have to restored. Peeling paint can lead to bigger problems than simply unsightliness.

Inside, failure to simply do things like take out the trash and do general cleaning can result in the invasion of pests. These pests bring disease with them as well as chew or bore holes into the home itself.  We shorten the life of the home and its ability to be a blessing when we fail to care for it. (Note that cosmetic changes to a home only cover up underlying problems. They do not remedy them.)

Our bodies are no different. We can slap some “cosmetic treatments”  in place and disguise some of the damage we are doing. Ultimately, however, if we want our bodies to be a blessing to ourselves and others for as long as possible, we must care for them well. 

I hear you.  No – it is not too late. There are studies of eighty year olds who made important physical changes by learning to lift weights. Their strength and balance improved dramatically.  Some of them were able to go off medications. (Don’t believe me? Google it!) 

No – if you are young, this is not your excuse to put it off.  Those eighty year olds could have avoided some of their physical issues if they had begun blessing their bodies earlier in life. Putting on a new roof is pricey, but it avoids the cost of a leak and significant damage later down the road. 

Perhaps you take good care of your body. Then let me encourage you and cheer you on!  Let me also challenge you. No matter how you’re doing in this area – allow God to use you to be a blessing to others. Thank Him for wherever you are right now and ask for eyes to see, hands to serve and a heart to love. 

As believers we are to be salt and light to the world around us. A healthy attitude toward our physical bodies helps us do that. For this is the vessel God has given us to serve Him in. Self-hatred is not humility. It’s an inside-out version of pride. The focus is still self. 

Self-criticism can be a hard habit to break. Begin by thanking God for your very existence. Out of all the possible DNA combinations that could have come into being in the womb of your mother, YOU were the lucky one. (There were roughly eight million other options.) Thank God for each breath you take.

Then, starting with your toes, give thanks to God. Your toes help you balance. Your feet take you places and help you stand.  Work your way through each major body part. What are you able to do or experience because you have eyes or ears or mouth? Consider what a wonder the design of your body is!  Marvel in the perfection of God’s construction plan. You do not have to tell your eyes to move or take in light.  You do not have to actively think to balance and walk or even breathe! 

In a culture that is so fixated on the physical form, getting “off target” in our thinking about ourselves is easy. We are bombarded with messages every day with how we should look. Our focus can easily become the outward form alone. This is a lose-lose perspective with vanity on one end and self-hatred on the other. I find that this thinking needs to be monitored constantly and that little realignments need to be made.

God has poured out gifts upon us in form of our physical bodies. Give thanks. Remember, as Christians, our bodies are not actually our own.  We “have been bought with a price.” It is time to treat God’s temple with honor and respect and care. It is time to realign our thinking. So thank God for His gifts. Then, consider: in what way will you bless your body today?