You Are A Temple

No one builds a temple only to fill it with junk and leaving it neglected - lacking maintenance and upkeep.

They fill it with beautiful, carefully chosen pieces.  Things which will enhance it and add value to it. They keep the inside and outside clean, maintained and looking beautiful.

 A healthy body. Well nourished.  Lean. Well taken care of.  That is a temple fit for the Holy Spirit of God.

What Is Given Them From Heaven

The other morning I was just waking up and thinking about my day ahead.  Somehow I began thinking about what a mess the house was and how much cleaning it needed.  Then my mind wandered to how out of shape I am and the weight I have put on over the last two years or so.  I was feeling a little discontent with both of these things and spent a few moments reflecting on changes that need to be made.

Suddenly - as clearly as someone speaking in my ear - came this thought.  Often I have not been a very good steward of many of the things God has trusted to me.  More often than I really care to think about.

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ~ 1 Corinthians 6:19

My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.  Yet, quite frequently  I have been treated it more like a food court at the mall.  Just sitting around, stuffed with as much junk food as it could possible hold.  Not exactly "temple" material there. 

I have been making an effort to consider the many blessings the Lord provides to me, and to give thanks for those things.  This showed me a whole new step in this process.  I have to remember that just as John 3:27 says, "A person can receive only what is given them from heaven". 

Everything is a gift from heaven, and I need to treat it accordingly.  Whether that is taking better care of my health, doing my best to keep the house up, keeping my car cleaned out, or spending quality time with my family.

"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' ~ Matthew 25:21

You Are That Temple

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple. ~ 1 Corinthians 3: 16-17

I love the image of ourselves as God's temples.  I think it goes right along with the concept people are getting of eating healthier, exercising, and taking better care of ourselves.  Think of all the beautiful churches, cathedrals, and temples around the world.  Some of them have stood for hundreds and hundreds of years.  A testimony to the strength and beauty of our Lord.  If we are the temple where the spirit of the Creator lives, don't we want to keep God's temple as strong and beautiful as possible?

I know it gives me a new perspective and inspires me to think of it in those terms!  Keeping God's temple, where His spirit lives, strong and healthy.

Maybe I should go for a walk or something.