When I was younger, I loved going to get smoothies at Jamba Juice.
On the styrofoam plastic cups they would post several “Jambaisms” about healthy living and the one that stood out to me was Jambaism #5 which said, “Your body is a temple. Littering is strictly prohibited.” More than just an advertisement for healthy living, this quote was adopted and taken from a much larger biblical truth about the Holy Spirit - we are his temple.
In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul wrote to the church in Corinth with these words, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
Wait a minute.
Read that again. Read it another time.
Do you realize what this text is saying? One of the members of the triune God lives inside of you. This Holy Spirit was there with the Father and the Son before the beginning of time and creation, yet He lives inside of you. Do you realize the weight of this indwelling?
One of the most convicting contrasts to this passage is a story in the New Testament that many of us may know quite well. Jesus had just performed His first miracle of changing water into wine, and He headed to the temple mount in Jerusalem. When He arrived, this is what happened:
“In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle, he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market! (John 2:14-16, NIV)”
When I read these texts one after the other, I grew sad.
How many times have I tried to fill my time with so much stuff, that I forget to make room for the Holy Spirit? How many times have I shamed myself with negative self-talk, instead of remembering that I am beautifully and wonderfully made? How many times have I forgotten that I am not my own, and rebelled against God’s wonderful plan for me? How many times have I let trinkets and idols fill up my heart, squashing down my love for Jesus?
Don’t get me wrong, I think some of us need to sit back and reflect on the first passage and remind ourselves that the Holy Spirit lives inside of us and thank God in awe for the power and nearness He gave us in this way.
Others of us, I think we need to see Jesus in His righteous anger dethroning the clutter that we try to put in place of his Spirit.
I challenge you to meditate on these two passages and see if it causes you to think twice about the things you wear, the TV shows you watch, the food you eat, and the things you give your heart over to. Is there room for the Holy Spirit to dwell in your body? Or have you been taken over by the chaos of your own preferences and habits?
- Soquel Filice
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