“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from? You are not you own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” 1 Cor 6:19-20

Mommy, can I have some more gummy bears? This request after having eaten cake and ice cream at a birthday party.  Did you have any vegetables today or any fruit I respond? Of course, they hadn’t so their faces dropped as their eyes sunk.  “Why don’t you get some of those first”, I asked a bit rhetorically? They complied while asking, “can we get some afterwards”?! Cause you know everything is either negotiable or has a contingency when it comes to littles! Now as I try to encourage them to make better choices I consider how often do I reach for the treat when given the option.  Despite knowing which is better, I too could be better about the choices I make when it comes to these things or for all body care related matters for that matter.

This scripture challenges us to do just that. This is a reminder that everything God gives us, including our bodies, matters because these things do not belong to us.  Take a moment and let that sit.  The food we put in it, the things we put on it and the thoughts we accept in it all matter because our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, the temple of God.

The Holy Spirit lives inside of us!  The Holy Spirit, God in spirit form, lives inside of us!  How special are you that God chooses to reside in your body?  Because the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, we should take care of our bodies.  Because He is holy, we are to be holy. We are to do our best and pray for help and guidance to only do things in our bodies and with our bodies that would honor God.  Just like everything God gives us, He expects us to take care of it.  He expects us to take care of our bodies.  To do this, we should take care of each part of it. Our bodies include our physical body, our spirit and our minds. 

He inhabits our minds

Our minds need good food also.  Our minds need us to think on the good things of God and to look at things that only honor Him.  The input our brains takes in can impact us in ways we may not always be able to see.  When we choose to watch something on Tv or listen to a conversation or when a thought comes to our mind we should ask the question, does this honor God? If does not then we should be sure to turn away from it. We can not always help it when a not nice thought comes to our mind but we can choose not to keep thinking about it and instead think about what good things God says instead. This is where learning scripture can help and with the Holy Spirit inside of us, He will help us to remember the right scriptures at the right time. The Holy Spirit will point us in the right direction to find the answer we need to hear from God.  The Holy Spirit might lead us to ask our mom or a teacher or our pastor a certain question or into a conversation that helps us with our negative thoughts.  The Holy Spirit is our guide, our counselor and the source of comfort when we need it.

He inhabits our bodies

Our bodies need us to make good food choices so they have all the nutrients and healthy calories to build strong muscles and have the strength we could use to be in the best shape God will allow with His help.  Exercise helps to keep our bodies in shape and our hearts healthy, so we are prepared to do the work God as created us to do.  God created us to all look different.  We should not worry about what we look like because we are made perfect in His image. He loves us just the way He made us and believes we are so special that He lives inside of us.  We only need to do our part and take care of the body God gave us.

He inhabits our spirits

Our spirits are fed when we read scripture and pray.  We grow closer to God and strengthen our spirits as we spend time with God.  We can pray anywhere, anytime.  We can pray with other or alone. We can read scripture out loud or to ourselves. We can read one scripture or read a whole chapter.  Whatever we do, our sprits will be fed.

Sow the seed: Our bodies are not our own.

Nurture the seed: “don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst” 1 Cor 3:16