Summer Fare: Do we look like God’s temple?

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)

This morning I meditated on the reality of this verse.

Because I am a Christ follower…

I am God’s temple. (Gulp)

the HOLY Spirit dwells in me. (Wow.)

I thought through each part of myself from head to toe and considered whether or not my body is lining up with its inner reality. The two should be in perfect alignment. Perhaps you can consider the same with me today.

If the Holy Spirit is housed inside of us, do our minds reflect that reality?

Are our minds set on things above, not on things here on earth (Col. 3:2)?

Even when doing things on earth (like cleaning the house), are we thinking about God, praying for people, or (like me) considering our next blog post for His glory? Are we motivated to keep a nice home for God’s purposes instead of looking better than the neighbor’s? 

If the Holy Spirit is housed inside of us, do our mouths reflect that reality?

Are our words pure? Are our words always beneficial for the situation at hand? (Eph. 4:28-29)

Do our faces reflect that reality?

Do we smile readily and welcome people with our expressions? Are we appropriately sad when sin is rampant?

Do our hands reflect that reality?

Do we touch people gently instead of harshly?

Do we work industriously instead of lazily? Do our hands refuse jobs that are “below” us or do our hands serve readily?

Do our hands enter only website URLs and words that glorify God?

Do our feet reflect that reality too?

Can God truly go everywhere we go day or night–school, work, homes, out with friends and to the movies? Literally everywhere?

If we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, our entire bodies should reflect that reality.

This is no easy task. In fact, it’s gut-wrenching.

My son has become fairly proficient at playing the Kendama. Hours and hours have been invested in training his body to balance that ball and maneuver that base with just the right amount of movement and gentle touch. It looks easy, but it’s hard. You should see young adults grab it from my son and try. Invariably, they work very hard to land that ball on the spike ONCE.

The Spirit-filled life sounds so easy–just let God do it–but it’s hard. Think about times when your body was screaming to obey your sinful nature…

• Haven’t you nearly bit off your tongue trying not to say the words that would not honor God? But by great price to your pride, you traded in your hurt for His kindness instead.
• Have any of you ever left your home after a fight with someone in the family and not wanted to come home? But you did, on God’s power alone.
• Have you ever overcome an addiction? One hour of the path seemed like a year. One day of victory called for celebration. It seemed God was breathing for you. A gut-wrenching battle was waged…and won.

We honor Christ when we slay the sin He died for; when we let Him know He did not die in vain.

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. (I Peter 4:1)

This is how Jesus lived His life. He suffered in the flesh to cease from sin and live for the will of God. Notice we are to arm [ourselves] with the same way of thinking.

Oh, Lord, I ask you to orchestrate my circumstances and spiritual growth such that the temple of my body aligns with the inner reality of housing your Spirit. And Lord, I pray for every Christian in the world to contemplate this truth. May we each ask you to transform us into vessels worthy of your Spirit…whatever it takes.

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