12/05/2024
Do you have your body under control? Have you let yourself separate your spirituality of nature from the physical manifestation of that faith within your body itself? By this I am not asking if you treat yourself as a narcissist, but if you do those things that are godly and good with yourself, and treat your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit? Our spiritual and physical selves walk hand in hand with our faith, and it is by God’s will that we find the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit within our physical bodies.
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Romans 12:1 ESV
There is a big difference between worshiping our bodies and worshiping with our bodies... or rather from within our bodies. Don’t mistake how perfect you believe you are bodily with the holiness of that place, instead, pay close attention to what is transpiring within you… within the temple of the Spirit.
During World War II the Jews in Europe were systematically rounded up by the Nazis and placed into concentration camps. From these camps they were sent out in work parties and further mistreated in horrific ways. They were starved and demeaned in ways that would shock the most hardened of people, but in the dark recesses of underground holding cells and in overcrowded barracks, something amazing happened... their faith lived on, and the Jewish law as it pertained to their bodies survived.
Although nothing but skin and bones, although physically and sexually abused, although branded, although beaten and killed, and despite being tattooed with numbers, and stripped naked before the world... they maintained the holiness of their bodies as best they could. So, in these crowded shacks, and holes in the ground, temples remained, and they were made holy. When no other semblance of their faith could be maintained they retreated into the holy space within themselves. This is how we as Christians are told to consider our bodies... the most holy of temples... a place of worship that can’t be taken away from us. We are living sacrifices, holy and acceptable before God, and He has declared us to be His temple. Are we living up to His expectations?
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV
Like the Jews, Christians have been imprisoned as well, and yet prayers, softly sung hymns, and makeshift communions have been offered by the saints who were confined in those cells. Today, these prison cells are holy places; not because they were consecrated or anointed and declared to be sacred by the church, but because they once housed and witnessed the holy focal point of man’s faith... they contained the souls of the righteous. Despite the fact that many of these places are now dilapidated and have been abandoned, they are still venerated. People visit them and are moved by what they feel there; flowers are laid on the ground, and prayers are offered up. Consider places such as the Colosseum in Rome, the cave in which the Apostle Paul was imprisoned, the cave on the Isle of Patmos where John was banished, and so many other places through the ages, and around the world. These are not beautiful to the eye but are beyond beautiful to the spirit.
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,”
Acts 16:25 ESV
Our bodies are temples; and we should treat them as such. It doesn’t matter what you look like on the outside. It doesn’t matter what your body has been used for in the past. What matters is that today, right now, it houses the most precious things in all of Christianity... your soul, your spirit, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit that is in communion with them. You are indeed a Temple of the Holy Spirit, and the abode of Jesus and God. Don’t look at yourself as unworthy nor too far removed from what is holy, because whatever your body has been used for in the past it is still the desire of God that through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ it will be rehabilitated, repurposed, and resurrected with Him.
“But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."”
1 Samuel 16:7 ESV
“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
Romans 6:4-5 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to reside within me, and for making me Holy in your eyes. I thank you for salvaging this body that I have often mistreated, and for making it pure through the redemption of Jesus Christ your Son. Help me Holy Father to keep this Vessel, your temple, holy and worthy of your inhabitance. As I go through my days, guide me in the liturgy of my internal faith as I worship you from within myself, body, mind, soul, and strength. With every prayer I speak, and all praise I sing, let my worship of you begin here within my body and mind, and bring honor and glory to you. From this unassuming and often crippled shell know my heart as I emit the love and unbridled faith I have in you. Blind me Lord to whatever unkind vision mankind sees when it looks at me and give me the vision and confidence that you have in me. Help me Father to banish the ugliness of all evil and sin that I see in myself and help me build an altar within me that is glorious and beautiful in your eyes. Receive me Holy Father despite my physical imperfections and bodily abuses and lead me as I repair and consecrate myself, your holy temple, and do those things with my body, and within my mind, that bring you honor and glory. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who was, and is to come. Holy are you who loves me, sees my heart, and has sent your Son Jesus to save me from sin such that I am transformed, redeemed, and will one day be resurrected with Him to be with you eternally. Hear this my prayer of confession as I seek your forgiveness, and the renewal of who I am. Hear me speak in the name of Jesus as I am crucified and washed clean with His redeeming blood.
In His Holy name I pray…. Amen! Amen! Amen!
Rich Forbes