Have you ever realised that your body is a temple? In Paul’s epistles he consistently points towards this fact. In his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul on numerous occasions hints at this amazing truth. We read the following in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.
You realize, don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God’s temple, you can be sure of that. God’s temple is sacred – and you, remember, are the temple. – MSG
I love this passage for several reasons, but it has serious implications for us. For instance, if we call ourselves Jesus followers it means that WE ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD. The Holy Spirit which created the universe, parted the Red Sea, and was present in the incarnation now lives in us.
This means that we are worth something!!! We are so precious to God that they now dwell in us! How amazing is this truth, especially in a world where we are told our worth comes from our social status. God says you are ENOUGH… better yet God says YOU ARE VALUABLE BEYOND MEASURE TO US.
This is big because it means that all humanity is VALUABLE and when we dishonour or dehumanise the other…… we are dehumanising the very TEMPLE of GOD. Even if they are a not a Jesus Follower yet, they are a TEMPLE OF GOD in RESTORTATION.
In our world with so many differing opinions it is hard to show love and not dehumanise the other. As Jesus followers we are called to walk this hard & complicated path that continues to ask us to express the sacrificial love revealed to us in Jesus Christ.