TODAY’S VERSES:
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “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.”
We receive A LOT of instructions from the authority in our lives. Every day, our parents tell us things like, “Put on sunscreen, wear your helmet, drink water, etc.” You may sometimes get tired of all the commands. You may even wonder why you are constantly being told what to do with your own body. There are two main reasons: 1) To teach you the importance of obedience, and 2) to teach you how to take care of your body.
Obedience is a HUGE theme in the Bible. Did you know that God commands us to obey our parents?
Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”
In fact, showing them respect and honor is one of The 10 Commandments!
Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
So, when we obey our parents, we are obeying God. When we do what is written in the Bible, including obeying the authorities in our lives, we are showing our love for Him!
John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
We can see that obedience is important to living a righteous life for the Lord, but why all the commands about our bodies? Well, God has given us our bodies. So, we may rightly call them a gift.
James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
If your parents gave you an expensive present and told you to take care of it because it was one of a kind and could not be replaced, you would be very careful with it, right? Well, your life, including your body, is a unique and valuable gift from the Lord. It is important, therefore, to make sure we are obeying His commands and taking care of it. This is, again, how we can express our love and gratitude towards Him! Not only are our bodies a gift, but today’s verses tell us that God lives in the body of His children!
We do not know exactly how this happens, but we do know that God said it, so it must be true. If you trust Him, then you will trust what He says! So, if God lives in our bodies, should we not make them as nice as we can? What do your parents do when company is coming over? They clean your home, right? They want to make it comfortable for your guests. This is a way of showing you care for others. Well, God both created and saved us, so we should want to ensure that our bodies, His temple, are a pleasant place for Him to dwell! We do this by taking care of them. Obeying and taking care of ourselves is pleasing to the Lord. So, let us focus on doing just that!