“Don’t offer your bodily members to sin’s service as tools of wickedness; instead, offer your body to God as those who are alive from the dead, and devote the parts of your body to God as tools for justice and goodness in this world.” - Romans 6:13 (The Voice)

THE BODY

“Now, the human body is betrayed in its own nature when it is thus made central to human life. It is created for spiritual life in the kingdom of God and to be honored—indeed, glorified—in that context. But when taken out of that context and made the central focus of human experience and endeavor, it is betrayed—robbed of the spiritual resources meant to sustain its life and proper functioning—and in turn it then betrays those who center their lives on it.” - Dallas Willard

Have you ever been so physically exhausted that you were running on empty? Much of human life is lived this way: tired and exhausted from moving through life by our own willpower and energy.

Specific to Christian spiritual formation, “our bodies must increasingly be poised to do what is good and refrain from what is evil. The inclinations to wrongdoing that literally inhabit its parts must be eliminated.” How you live, move, think, breathe, exist in relationships, etc., are all lived in, from, and through your body. There is no escaping this fact. It is important to acknowledge that everything we do in our bodies is connected to thoughts, feelings, and our social context.

Eliminating the inclinations of wrongdoing comes from understanding our knee-jerk reactions in life—in other words, our thoughtless, habitual response to situations. Driving. Eating. Breathing. These all happen without much thought. In Christian spiritual formation, the body is right at the center of life—where it needs to be—an ally with which we train so that our actions (shaped by thoughts, will, and social context) can be tools for justice and goodness in the world.

REFLECTION

What do you do without thinking? Are these habits life-giving or soul-damaging?

PRAYER

Creator God, You have made us image-bearers. You call us to reflect Your life and glory in how we live, move, and exist in the world. Give us the grace we need to unlearn and relearn as is necessary and specific to our lives so that we may bring life and not death. Amen.