Truth-Filled Temple Talk
As I sat waiting for my doctor to come in the room yesterday, I sucked my tummy in and thought “Yep – still carrying my baby boy on this tummy!” I was in for my annual physical and blaming my son for the extra inches. How silly of me! Back in my day we weren’t as prone to exercising after the baby’s birth as women are today. I see you slim, trim mamas who jump into the gym as soon as you get your doctor’s clearance “All systems GO!” Ours were something like: “You had a baby — you deserve those extra inches with you!” But, for a lifetime??
A flashback of me before my baby boy filled my mind. I was so skinny that I was called “Bean Pole”. I took Weight-On tablets with the desire to catch up with the others my age who had “blossomed” much faster than I did. But, oh my — everything changed with the birth of one innocent baby boy.
Over the years I struggled with a poor body image. Here I was, a Jesus-loving girl thinking those negative thoughts. The truth is, God saw and sees me very differently and even tells me who I am: His daughter, the apple of His eye, a pearl of great price. Here’s my wake-up moment: When we are poor-mouthing our bodies or the way we look, we are speaking disparagingly about “our temple”. The apostle Paul spoke intentionally when he used the word temple. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” 1 Corinthians 6:19. Just think of it – our bodies are temples that carry the very Spirit of God.
That’s mind-boggling. Truly, I pray for a filter that keeps me grateful for this skin I’m in. Paul knew temples — there were plenty to compare to in Corinth with their domed ceilings, majestic columns, exquisite woodwork overlaid with gold and silver. (BTW, this photo is St. Paul’s Cathedral in Rome that mildly compares, I’m sure, to those Corinth temples.) Wow! We are those temples of the Holy Spirit. That is true for you, me and Christ followers everywhere.
Whether we feel like a temple or not, it is still God’s truth to us. In Christ, when we ask for forgiveness, we become a clean, pure temple — no matter what impure, unimaginable things we’ve done. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross and His mighty resurrection, we can obliterate the trash-filled thoughts from our past and redecorate our mind with God’s truth. So now I’m careful about my “temple” talk. No more “trash” talk or “smack” talk about this temple God gave me.
No matter the size, age or agility, our temples are sacred, good and holy and have infinite value. God is incredibly interested in what we do with them, and how we treasure them. It’s time we ask God to give us truth-filled temple talk.
Psalm 139:14, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”