Honoring the Body
Many passages of Scripture can bring a tidal wave of reassurance over your heart, but I think that this particular Psalm and this specific section of it are among the most personal and intimate verses in the Bible.
This chapter of Harrison’s with the funny title of “Brushing teeth” pushes us to celebrate the importance of these bodies that God gave us for getting us through our lives. She proclaims, “Our skin and muscles and feet and hands are more sacred than any communion chalice or baptismal font” (46). This too is a very encouraging thought and reflects this Psalm.
In the New Testament too, we see this concept when Paul writes to the church in Corinth: “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.” (I Corinthians 6: 19-20)
What a precious gift, and what a huge responsibility! It’s overwhelming and daunting to see ourselves on such a high scale of importance, but there it is laid out in two separate Biblical passages about how essential it is to remember how God views us! It’s what He created us to be: His hands and feet in the world!
Practically speaking, what does this mean? You could take this many directions, I think, but among them is the idea of taking care of yourself - getting exercise, drinking water, eating healthy, getting enough sleep: all those things that your doctor reminds you about at each check-up. It also has a definite worship element to it - this flesh and bone and all of its systems provides us with the strength and energy to further God’s kingdom!
When you hold a hand in the hospital as your friend struggles for breath,
when you raise and lower your arm to paint a fence because the owner has a slipped disc,
when you carry a tired three year old on your back at Vacation Bible School, when you use your vocal chords to encourage someone,
when you use your legs to run a marathon to raise money for clean water through World Vision,
when you comfort a baby against your chest in the nursery on Sunday morning at church…
All of these are acts of worship that are made possible because of your God-given and created body. Celebrate it and thank God for the capabilities you have because of it!
