Your Body Matters
This truth transforms everything about how we should view ourselves and the choices we make. The body you have now is the only one you'll get during this earthly journey. What you do with it matters profoundly—whether you maintain it with healthy habits or neglect it with harmful ones. In our modern world, it's all too easy to become physically inactive, mentally passive, and spiritually dormant. God doesn’t want us to numb ourselves with cheap entertainment or even good diversions. He wants us to be fully alive and purposeful in how we steward our bodies for His Kingdom.
You see, what we truly believe is revealed not just in what we say but in how we live. There's no way around this reality: we embody what we believe. The challenge before us is to intentionally train our minds and bodies to reflect what we profess and to align with the Way of Jesus.
Paul Jones was a British musician and former lead singer of Manfred Mann and his girlfriend Fiona Hendley were adamantly not Christians. When their friend Cliff Richard invited them to hear evangelist Louis Palau, they humored him. They had no idea how their lives would change. As they listened to messages about a Heavenly Father and a Savior who came to restore their relationship with God, something stirred within them. Palau said, Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart. Don’t pretend like you don’t hear him. With that, Fiona felt compelled to respond. As she moved toward the front to receive Christ, Paul asked, "Why?" When she explained it was to ask forgiveness for sin, his practical concern was, "Then where will I sleep tonight?" You see, they had been living together for years but never married. Fiona assured him that would be sorted out, but they'd be "mad not to take up this offer." In that transformative moment, Paul proposed marriage, and Fiona—who hadn't wanted marriage until that encounter with God—recognized that in the presence of Jesus, everything would be different. Everything would be alright. Their story reminds us that encountering Christ changes everything about how we live in these temples of flesh and bone.
Sometimes our faith falters not for lack of knowing but for lack of focusing.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella once had a powerful realization that he had been "living in his calendar rather than living his priorities." How many of us do the same? We react to the urgent while neglecting the important. We allow our schedules to dictate our lives rather than intentionally aligning our time with our deepest values.
As you move through your day, ask yourself regularly: "Does this choice align with my core value that I am the Temple of the Holy Spirit and Christ lives in me?" This simple question can transform your approach to everything—from family and career decisions to how you spend your leisure time. It can help you build a life of integrity and purpose, honoring the sacred space that is your body and the divine presence that dwells within you.
Your body is a temple. Your life is a testimony. Live accordingly.
Jonathan