Grace full mama

I grew up hearing “Your body is the temple of God. Be careful what you put into it.” This was usually a casual warning meant to steer teenagers away from smoking, alcohol, or promiscuity. It was often uttered by people holding onto an extra large soda and munching on Cheetos.

It’s funny how if truth is offered in the wrong way, by the wrong person, it loses its potency. I would like to return to this truth, but a whole lot deeper, and with a lot less flippancy.

First off, without reading in Kings, it’s hard to picture the difference in a “temple,” and a “church.” Churches can be held in people’s homes, in dusty basements, in huge mega churches and ancient steepled buildings sitting proud on a hill in the middle of nowhere. But Solomon’s temple for God was something else entirely.

The temple was built out of giant white stone, cut in ancient times by craftsmen. Massive cedar from Lebanon lined the walls and roof, lending the building the incredible scent of cedar. The floors, ceilings, and carvings were covered in gold that had been hammered thin to glossy perfection. Precious stones, silver and bronze added accents. There were beautiful golden lamp stands everywhere so that warm, golden light reflected off of the golden surfaces. Music filled the air, with harps and choirs singing praises to God. This place was magnificent; and even with this beautiful dwelling place, God’s presence resided in an inner room that was only accessable by the high priest once a year. Once a year!

When Jesus came to earth, his body became the temple. He was the dwelling place of God. Jesus, in all of his wisdom and perfection, was a walking talking embodiment of God on earth for the first time. When he ascended back into heaven, the Holy Spirit came down and made a home within every believer.

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself.” 1 Corinthians 6:19

God’s temple is magnificent. His presence was once elusive and distant, residing in the most beautiful building on earth. Now, we have unlimited access. We can come to him any time, for anything. This is a privilege I don’t want to take for granted!

So, if my body is now the temple of the Holy Spirit, and my voice can speak the words that he whispers to me, how do I be a worthy temple? How do I live a pure life? I want to hold as much Holy Spirit as I possibly can! I don’t want the most inner room of my spirit to hold his presence once a year. I want every corner of my being to be filled with his living, moving breath. I want my sighs to be his sighs, my words to be his words. I want to be filled to the brim with his holiness.

One thing that I can do is take care of his temple. As a homeschool mom of 5, it can be very difficult to find the time to take care of my body and mind. What I am finding, though, is that the more I do, the more Holy Spirit can empower me to be effective and efficient in my home. The more I “train” physically and spiritually, the better I am at speaking truth and wisdom from a loving place to my kids. The more I maintain this temple, the more of myself I have left for my husband.

We are not simply spiritual beings. We are intrinsically connected, something like the Trinity. We are physical beings, emotional beings, and spiritual beings. Our minds have neural pathways that are trenched in, and can be re routed with effort! Everything that we do matters. What we put in our minds (social media, TV shows, books, conversations with friends) either pollutes our minds and fills our temple with presence other than the Holy Spirit, or fills us with his presence. What we put in our bodies, and the effort we put into making them strong and capable, matters too. We need spiritual disciplines, emotional disciplines, and physical disciplines to build our bodies into temples that can hold more and more God!

“Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:5

We are called to take our thoughts captive. Recognize lies quickly, and refuse to agree with them! This is the kind of emotional and spiritual discipline we need to have so that our temple is spacious for Holy Spirit, and not crowded with lies and anxieties that clutter our minds.

I want to be the most effective mobile temple of Holy Spirit that I can possibly be! For this reason, I will train my body, mind, and spirit like I am training for a world class marathon.

Eating well and working out sharpen mental focus and build discipline in every aspect of life. This is an important piece of training! Exercise improves mood by being literal brain fertilizer, stimulating the production of BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) so that you can grow new neural pathways and even brain cells! Highly processed foods loaded with white carbohydrates and sugar on the other hand, causes blood sugar spikes and crashes. This makes your body feel sluggish, your mood anxious, and affects your mental sharpness and focus. Your physical disciplines are actually an important part of your spiritual disciplines.

Ever watched a movie that made you feel like you had taken a bath in water the dog peed in? There is a million of them out there. Have you ever scrolled social media and felt your anxiety spike slowly as your thumb moves the screen steadily under your gaze, and your mind ingests all the bad news, bad attitudes, jealousy, anger, and hatred imaginable?

My friends. I want to be a temple that is beautiful, effective, and spacious so that more and more of Holy Spirit can fill me and seep out of me to the people around me. This means I need to treat my mind and my body like they are in serious boot camp! Do the hard stuff, so you can be filled with the good stuff. Go for the walks. Read the word. Eat good food. Get good sleep. Lift heavy weights. Pray loud. Think about everything you put in your mouth, and everything you put in your mind. Everything matters, because you are the Holy, beautiful temple of the living God!

If your body is precious, then you will do everything you can to make it strong and effective. If your mind is precious, you will feed it good nutrition and guard the thoughts that enter it. If your spirit is precious, you will meditate on the word of God and spend time allowing his presence to fill you. And, if the temple that is you is precious, you will do all of this.

If anything matters, then everything matters!