Day 23 “If The Body is The Temple…”

If the body is the temple, then I am a mega church. Ok, I am not as big as I once was but I still have more weight to lose. It’s a daily battle that I have been fighting for a very long time.

The opening line is a funny quote from a christian comedian named Mike Williams. Mike is also a big guy,who like me, pokes fun at himself in his comedy show – something I have been doing in my shows for about 30 years. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t self loathing, but making fun of myself was funny and I had a good time doing so.

Times have changed though. I still make fun of myself when performing, but I have a different perspective now. One that reflects my value, not to my self, but to my Lord.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, that I am not my own, that I have been bought with a price. And who paid the price? Jesus. He died so that I would live. Jesus lives in my heart and that makes my body the temple. The realization that I have lived a life that would pollute the place where the Holy Spirit of God resides is, well, is deplorable.

It isn’t just sin that pollutes my body, it’s also the over consumption of food. I have lost nearly one hundred pounds, but I still need to lose one hundred more. If I have been bought with a price, then I should be much more aware of what goes in my body and not just through the mouth, but also the eyes and the mind.

God has been showing me so many things in my walk with Him about my body. I’m not talking about legalism here, I am talking about living a holy life for the glory of Jesus Christ. All the things that I have used to please my self-indulgence has been replaced with unmeasurable joy in living for Jesus. He is my deliverer, my everything. Nothing on this earth could ever satisfy me the way God does through His son Jesus Christ. I spent so many years pursuing the gifts instead of the gift giver – God. I fall to my knees in awe of Him and His infinite grace.

Satan did a pretty good job of blinded me to the real pleasures of God, but I know I am forgiven and cleansed from my unrighteousness. It’s not the past that matters, that’s gone, but the future I have in following Jesus. With my eyes on Jesus, it’s not so hard carrying my cross, especially since I am not carrying it alone.