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[27] So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.[31] And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (Genesis 1:27, 31)
We have a complicated relationship with our bodies. The physical design of our body and our five senses shape the way we experience the world. On the other hand, there are many issues related to our bodies – eating disorders, disease and sickness, and pain. Having a body doesn’t make us human, but we cannot be human without one. Throughout the book of Proverbs, the author used the phrase “bones” to reference our physical bodies. He claimed that wisdom “heals and refreshes our bones” (Proverbs 3:8). His point was that when we align our lives with the way of wisdom, it influences not just our spirit, but also our physical body.
Contrary to much teaching about the body over the centuries, Christianity is the most materialistic religion on the face of the planet. It’s not materialistic in the sense that it encourages people to gather material objects, but rather in that it is concerned with matter. It does not ignore, nor try to escape, the reality that we are physical beings living in a physical world. In fact, there are three movements within the scriptures that reinforce the goodness and transcendence of this physical world. First is the creation story. After creating human beings with physical bodies that need to eat and be tended to, God claimed that it was “very good.” (Genesis 1:27-31). God liked the work he created in the physical realm, and he came to redeem it. Second, we see God clothe himself in a physical body – Jesus is God incarnate. Finally, scripture clearly teaches that the destiny of human beings is not as disembodied spirits, but rather resurrected bodies. (Romans 6:5) The physical world is not a temporary holding tank where we wait for the better ethereal version in heaven. Actually, heaven is a holding place where we await a physical resurrection. Our destiny is material in nature!
Bodies are a gift. Although they too are subject to the brokenness of the fall, they’re not inherently evil. Our body is not something we must subdue and overcome, but rather something we must care for. We care for our bodies through exercise, diet, and good patterns of rest. But, we also care for our bodies as we believe and align our lives with the truth of the way God’s wired the universe. Solomon’s emphasizes throughout the book of Proverbs is that we’re holistic beings. We can’t just care for one part of our humanity, we must care for body, soul, and mind as they’re all connected. Take a moment today and listen to the song Body, by Sleeping at Last. Remind yourself that you have a body – and that’s a good thing![/vc_column_text][us_separator height=”25px” size=”custom”][vc_column_text 0=””]
By Ryan Paulson
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