Have you ever felt at war with your own body? Perhaps you've tried to escape it through overwork, screen time, or numbing behaviors. Maybe you've obsessed over perfecting it, measuring your worth by fitness levels or appearance. Either way, the message is clear: your body, as it exists right now, isn't enough.
This powerful message challenges that harmful narrative by exploring how God sees our physical existence. Drawing from Genesis, we discover the radical truth that our bodies are created in God's image and declared "very good"—not as temporary shells holding the "real us," but as intentional, valuable parts of our whole being. This truth stands in stark contrast to ancient Gnosticism (which viewed bodies as bad and spirits as good) and modern tendencies to either dismiss or idolize our physical selves.
The incarnation takes this truth even further. When "the Word became flesh," God didn't merely appear human—he fully entered the human experience. Jesus felt hunger, fatigue, and pain. He enjoyed food, friendship, and rest. This wasn't God hovering above our weakness but stepping directly into it. And if God was willing to take on flesh, our bodies must matter deeply.
Discipleship, then, can never be reduced to right beliefs or spiritual practices alone. It must include how we treat our physical selves. Our choices about sleep, food, movement, and rest aren't disconnected from faith—they're opportunities to honor God with our whole being. And ultimately, the resurrection confirms that God's plan isn't to save us from our bodies but to redeem them completely.
What might change if you started seeing your body not as a problem to solve but as part of God's masterpiece? Consider thanking God for your body today, imperfections and all, and ask how you might honor him with your physical life this week. Will you give your whole self to the One who gave His whole self for you?
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