“Therefore, strengthen your listless hands and your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed.” Hebrews 12:12-13 (NET)
January has brought much death to our family circle. Thus far, we have lost two people close to us and have two more in the hospital. January has highlighted the frailty and fragility of the human body and the truth that it will, one day, give out on us. In fact, each of the illnesses and deaths we have encountered have been, ultimately, the result of the body ceasing to function properly and giving out.
Which leaves me again to wonder why, as Christians, we don’t hear more about taking care of this amazing body God has gifted to us!? We hear a lot about stewarding our money and our time and our talents … but what about stewarding this gift of the body? If the impact we can have for our Lord in this dark world is limited by how long our bodies hold up, then why don’t we cherish it and care for it and treat it with love and respect?
In Hebrews (above), the writer was speaking in metaphorical terms. He was encouraging us to keep moving, accepting the Lord’s discipline of us, and using it to make us better and stronger for Him. But I believe that taking care of our physical bodies and strengthening our them can have both short- and long-term value for the kingdom. How? In the short-term, it is an act of worship. It is stewarding and caring for one of the most amazing things He has entrusted to us. In the long-term, it can improve and lengthen the time we have in this world to shine for Jesus.
Yes, our bodies are temporal. But goodness, so is our money, our time and our talents … & we steward those, don’t we? Your body is here for your entire journey, so strengthen the things that remain so that it may not be put out of joint, but rather healed and used by our Lord.
