There are two parts to the story. If you read my last post about heaven being our real home, you'll understand these follow-up thoughts better.
Last time, my thoughts were directed along the lines of... what are we doing here? What's the point of all this? What things should we be worrying about? Where is home? This time, we're taking a slightly different course. Last time, I talked about where we are going. Heaven. Home. We don't belong on earth, we belong with our Father. So now... let's talk about our hotel.
God's given us a temporary housing facility- each and every one of us. It's called our body. We all have one, and somewhere, deep inside, our soul is nested. Our bodies by themselves are inanimate. Dead. Lifeless. But when our soul is inside, they come to life, and are the instruments for our spirits.
Last post, I described a scenario- the one about the hotel. How if you don't like the colour of the walls, you don't care because you know it's not really your home.
Now, let's continue that analogy. I was talking to some friends over Spring Break on these topics, in high detail- thus the posts. We were discussing that although our bodies are only temporary houses for our spirits, that doesn't mean we pay no attention. God made our bodies in His image. That's got to count for something, eh?
Now, when I was discussing this with my friends around a week ago, one of them brought up a very good analogy that I would like to share with you.
Say you go to a hotel. You know you're only staying for, maybe, two or three weeks. It's short enough that you don't have to fret over minor inconveniences or the bad taste in decorating. But it's long enough that you'll want to keep it clean and tidy.
Let's up this scene one step and make it more realistic. Say you were given a hotel room. Someone maybe gave up their room for you, or just out of the kindness of their hearts paid for the room. Wouldn't you feel compelled to keep it tidy? I think it would be kind of rude to let the state of the hotel room be messy in the least.
When you go to a hotel, chances are you try to keep it in good shape. Maybe you lay out a rug or bring your own pillows and other neccessities with you to make it feel more at home, but you don't mess with the structure of the place. You leave it as it is, and are thankful for the place- especially if it was paid for.
Life is a gift from God. He gave us our bodies, and he designed them exactly how he wanted them. One point brought up in our discussion was just the awesome imagination of God. There has been billions and billions of people to walk on this planet, and who knows how many more there will be? Yet, no two people have ever been the same! Isn't it amazing how people can look soooooo different, even though we share the same characteristics? (Eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair, arms, legs....) Yet God has planned each of us out so specifically and there is such beautiful variation between us. We are fearfully and wonderfully made!
So. Before I get sidetracked, back to the hotel. Our bodies are our hotels. We've established that we are visitors on earth, passing through on our way to the Holy City. So in our analogy, God has given us a free hotel room, personalized just for us. Now let's say that God is actually going to come along with us. He will be with us the whole time. There's nothing to worry about!
Have you ever heard the verse: Do you not know that your bodies are temples 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 bodies.
That verse is saying that our bodies are the temples of God! Okay, hold the phone. These hotels we are living in were given to us by God to be used for Him. Makes sense! Until we die, God is with us. He is in us. Doesn't it seem like that's saying a lot? That the God of all gods is living inside us? Wow!
If we really were in charge of God's temple, no doubt we would be always on the ball with basic housekeeping. In our conversation about these subjects we were talking about the lengths people go to to try to make their bodies perfect. Clothes, makeup, jewelery, hairstyles... it can be dangerous if it is an obsession. Ever heard of anorexia? Bulimia? Those are two cases where the housekeeping of the temple became an obsession.
Yes, we need to honour God with our bodies. But we don't honour our bodies themselves. That's just silly! Keeping our bodies in good working condition, and presentable for our God is important. But if we go to these lengths, doesn't that make God more important than the body itself? The answer is obvious.
When the care of our bodies turns into focusing our attention on our looks, we've gone too far. Okay, back to the hotel. If you are on a vacation with God, you most likely won't be spending your time fixing the heating ducts. You won't be constantly rearranging the pictures on the walls. If God is spending time with you in your very own room, you would be visiting with Him! No doubt we would be asking Him questions, and trying to learn all we can, am I right?!
Well here's a newsflash: that scenario is true. It's happening right now... in you. God's there. How's the condition of His temple? Is it so flashy that it conceals Him? Is it too dingy to work with? Your body is not your own. You belong to God. You gave yourself to Him the moment you put your trust in Him.
He is always with you. I've heard people say "I want to meet God some day," or "If I could ask God one question it would be...." Well, folks, you don't have to wait until some day. You don't have to limit yourself to one question, either. He's living in you! Or at least, He's knocking at the door, waiting to be let in.
Present yourselves in a way that is not immodest, not showy or prideful. Present yourselves in a humble, gentle manner, riveting all the attention on the Giver of your body. He deserves all praise. He deserves all your time! You say you love Him. Prove it. Prove you love your God more than your hotel! Don't be spending too much time making the room pleasing- be spending time talking and learning from the Lord of the Universe- he's standing there watching.
How's the God-time/mirror-time ratio looking for you today?
