Paul writes to the church in Rome, “And so dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” (Romans 12:1)
I’m often reminded these days of one of my favorite quotes from a sports star. About ten years after his retirement from baseball, Mickey Mantle said, “If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.” I wonder sometimes if this old beat up body of mine is still a living and holy sacrifice that God finds acceptable. Of course, the answer to that question is a resounding YES! Like the widow’s mite, it is all I have and all is what God expects from us.
Jesus referred to his body as a temple. (John 2:18-21) Paul also wrote, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself.” (1 Corinthians 6:19) Christians don’t go to church on Sunday to visit and worship God – we bring Him with us to that meeting place and share and bask in His presence with other Christians. We don’t go to church – we are the church. God’s Holy Spirit dwells in us 24/7. That is what Jesus was talking about when he told the Samaritan woman at the well, “But the time is coming – indeed it’s here now – when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24)
This temple of clay, which is my body, not only houses God’s Spirit but mine as well. I love the way Dottie Rambo describes it in one of her songs. ”This house of flesh is but a prison. Bars of bone hold my soul. But the doors of clay are gonna burst wide open when the angel sets my spirit free. I’ll take my flight like a mighty eagle when the hills of home start calling me.”