I Shouldn't Feel This Way by Dr. Alison CookSample

We see the dignity of the body illustrated in numerous ways throughout Scripture. In John 14, when Jesus promised the coming of the Holy Spirit, he said that it would dwell within our bodies. Paul expanded on this point in 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 when he said, “The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body” (msg). Your body is the dwelling place for the living God. It’s a place of honor, a place that is sacred, a place to tend with care and wonder, as you might care for any sacred dwelling.

And, finally, we see the dignity in the body in the fact that Jesus came in a body.

Jesus lived in a body.

Jesus died in a body.

Jesus was resurrected in a body.

Too often we gloss over the reality of what that statement means: Jesus was resurrected in a body. His resurrected body bore the wounds of his life as a human on earth (Luke 24:13–32; John 20:19–23). It was the same body, even though it looked a little different. At the ascension, when Jesus returned to heaven, his body went with him (Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9–11). The physical ascension of Jesus suggests that our bodies will still be with us on the other side of this life.

Your body is not an inconvenience. It’s not something to put up with until you become a disembodied soul in heaven. Your body matters. It matters now, and it matters for all eternity.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for the body you’ve given me. Please help me love and care for it. Amen.