Taking Care of the Body

     Some years ago, my husband along with our son-in-law, went to see the human body exhibit at the MOSI science center in Tampa.  People have donated their bodies to science and through the wonder of "plastination" they have been preserved in order to show the public what various systems of the body look like.  Both my husband and son-in-law were amazed at the intricate design of the body created by God.  The Bible tells us in Psalm 139:14:  "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."
     Unfortunately, if we look around today, we see many people who take their body for granted and abuse it.  The evidence is all around us.....alcoholism, drugs, smoking, obesity, all have a detrimental effect on our health, and in many cases, we know what we should do.  However, we do not do it.  We don't exercise.  We eat junk food, and do not take time to get a good night's sleep.  We avoid going to the doctor for a check-up or worse yet, we go but do not take the advice we have been given.  In some cases, people refuse to take the medication that would help them improve.  Why?

Our newest Grandson Hudson

     According to the Bible, "..for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). There is no one in this world with the exception of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who has done everything perfectly.  Furthermore, our perfect world (including our bodies) have been marred with sin in the Garden of Eden.  After the Fall, the world began to change.  Man's body would die as would the animals that God so carefully formed.  Decay and death entered the world, but God's plan would bring redemption and a promise of a new heaven and a new earth.  Likewise, for those who believe in faith that Christ died and rose again from the dead, there is a promise of eternal life.  When the body dies, our soul will not die but live forever in the presence of our Lord.  Then, when Christ returns, we will be given a new body that will never suffer death, pain or illness.  What a great day that will be!  Until that time, though, we are to value and care for the life which God has given to us.
     God does not make mistakes and the body we have, though marred and imperfect as a result of sin, is still a gift from Him.  Psalm 139:13 says:  "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb."  The Lord knew us from before the foundation of the world.  In fact, the Bible says He even knows the number of hairs on our head.  We have been designed to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, but we need to take care of our body in the process.
     In his letter to the Corinthians, who had their share of problems, the Apostle Paul wrote to them concerning sexual immorality as one aspect of abusing the body.  I Corinthians 6:18-20 reads:  "Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. 19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body."  If we are a believer in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit has come to live within our bodies.  We sin against God when we abuse, neglect or forget to take care of ourselves.  As Paul rightly says, "we are not our own".  Christ purchased us with His blood that we might live to the glory of God for eternity.
     When I was young, I never thought much about my diet, exercise or other considerations related to my health.  Somehow, most young adults have the same mindset.  Eventually, though, time catches up with us and we see how our health is affected by the food we eat, and the choices we make.  Neglecting our health is every much a sin as telling a lie.  God has told us that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit and this means our earthly bodies must be cared for.  We certainly do not neglect our vehicles if we need to get around.  Nor do we neglect our homes because we need a good place to live.  Therefore, let us resolve in our hearts to honor God and bring Him glory by taking care of our health.  This human body was fearfully and wonderfully made by the Lord.  May we never take it for granted.  Selah!