In just the past couple of years, I’ve begun to walk in the understanding of what it means for my body to be a temple of the Holy Spirit. I’ve just begun to understand that this body I have is not “mine,” but it is God’s – I didn’t create it or create myself.
My body is a living gift from the living God. And not only is this body I have a gift, but it is a Divine Temple – an earthly residence of the Holy Spirit. WOW! This was a game-changer at every level for me when I really “got” this. This body is a gift, on loan for about 80-100 years, while I’m on this planet, this lifetime.
I Corinthians 6:19 presents us with this question: ….do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
My body doesn’t “belong” to me, but belongs to God, and is to be used in service to God. It is to be used appropriately and in accord for the purposes for which it was created. Misuse and abuse have consequences with this gift, namely dis-ease and breakdown.
Clearly, we don’t realize this or we’d take better care of the bodies we’re given; we’d rest them better; feed them better, exercise them more; hydrate them more; and be much more mindful of what we allowed in them, through our gateways – namely our eye gateway (what are you watching on TV, on the internet?); our mouth gateway (what are you eating?); our ear gateway (what are you listening to on the radio, on your earphones, in conversation, in the form of music and music lyrics?), and last but NOT least, your vagina/womb gateway (who are you allowing INSIDE of your body? who are you allowing access to the innermost chamber of your body, your womb?)
So let’s talk about a temple for a minute.
On the opposite of the spectrum would be something like an abandoned warehouse. Let’s do a compare and contrast to give us some insight into how we should be engaging with our living temple.
Abandoned Warehouse
Neglected
Ignored Attended to
Junky
Dirty
In disrepair
Ugly outside and inside
Filled with broken things
Filled with discarded things
Clutter, garbage and refuse are strewn about
Divine Temple
Cared For
Neat
Clean
Well-taken care of
Beautiful outside and inside
Filled with lovely, quality things
Everything is operating properly and correctly
It’s decluttered and free of garbage and refuse
So what would you add to this compare and contrast list? Which side of the list have you fallen on, in the past? What side are you committed to being on now and into the future? I hope – the one that is the truth of who you are!!
I am in awe of a famous temple, the temple King Solomon built on Mt. Moriah in the Holy Bible’s Old Testament book of Kings. God gave his father, King David, the blueprint and exact design and details of the temple, and Solomon is the one who fulfilled the vision. The entire process of building this temple, one of the wonders of the world, at the time, is chronicled in I Kings, as it discusses the floor plan, the materials, dimension, and 30,000 men that it took seven years to build – men that were the leading craftsmen of their age, talented in masonry and sacred geometry. The temple was to divine, God-given specifications and used the finest quality materials. Gold laid over the doors, floors and the entire inside of the temple. Gold is a precious metal that doesn’t tarnish or oxidize.
I was also amazed to know that the stones of the temple were cut at the quarry, not at the site. They were cut using high-level masonic builders who were able to erect the temple so as not to need hammer or chisel or any iron tool. WOW!!! I Kings 6:7b says that the sound of no hammer, chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built!!* (*Reference, New King James version)
I think you’ll agree – we’ve got up majorly UPGRADE our appreciation of the bodies God gave us. We’ve got to majorly UPGRADE our care, consideration, respect, and honor of the bodies God gave us. What a different world it would be if we all did this.
You can begin, now, today, shifting your relationship with your body….gently, step-by-step and day by day.
