It’s early in the year, so New Year Resolutions may still be fresh in your mind. Did you make any New Year resolutions? What were they? A high percentage of New Year resolutions are centered on self-improvement, with some of the most common being things associated with living a healthier lifestyle, such as eating wholesome food, getting more exercise, or losing weight. All of these reflect the principle that we are primarily a product of what we take in and what we do. This principle is not only true in respect to our physical bodies, but can also be applied to all aspects of our identity including our spirituality, and our mental and emotional being. When writing to the believers at Corinth Paul taught that God treats us as a temple where His Holy Spirit lives. With that being the case it is important for us to be very aware of, and selective in, what we use to build and maintain that temple. This goes beyond diet and exercise, to include what we take in through reading, watching TV, the internet, conversations we participate in, the thoughts we entertain, and even the daily activities we choose to participate in.
We also need to keep in mind that the temple exists for God and should be a showcase for Him. It’s very easy to get side tracked into focusing on ourselves and to become absorbed in self-image, but the reality is that, as Christians, we belong to God and our lives should draw attention to Him. For me, it helps to think of myself as part of a valuable piece of jewelry where I am the setting and God is the precious jewel on display. I was once nothing more than primitive ore that God is smelting and molding into a place where He can rest and His beauty can be clearly seen. My goal in life is to cooperate and respond appropriately to God as He refines and shapes me into a suitable frame that showcases Him. That means I need to be following His instructions on what to let go of and what to hold on to, and using good judgement in what I choose to do, so that He can effectively change me. Even though I know God is making me into something beautiful to compliment Him, when people look my way, I yearn for them to be so dazzled by God’s brilliance that they don’t notice me in the background. If you haven’t yet made any resolutions for 2018 I urge you to resolve to live fully surrendered to God and to follow His blueprint to build you into the temple He designed you to be!
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20. NKJV)
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31. NKJV)
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