Being In Touch

I ended the last post with the statement that we should be both sensitive to our own bodies and sensitive to the Holy Spirit. When I was younger and a highly competitive gymnast I often would ignore my body. Thus I would continue to practice on injuries that lead to more severe injury. Was this glorifying to God? No, not at all. I learned how to NOT listen to my body and just plow through whatever in order to accomplish the task. I do not think this wise and it caused me to develop many bad habits. Now as an adult I am having to retrain myself to listen to my own body. To understand when to push and when to rest. For God does not like seeing me injured ALL the time.

God wants us to take care of the physical body and our spiritual self. For the Bible refers to our human bodies as the temple that houses the Holy Spirit. So let’s think of our physical body like a house and the Holy Spirit as the spiritual body occupying that house.

If the spiritual body does not listen to the physical body. If they do not communicate. If they are not linked. If they do not co-exist then the physical house will not communicate with its occupant. It will not have anyone to take care of it. It will get dirty. It will get holes in the walls. The plumbing system might get backed up and stopped up. Then it ends up smelling bad. The physical body has to communicate with the spiritual body in order for it to be taken care, maintained and cleaned. For just like the Holy Spirit needs a physical house to exist in this world, the physical body needs to be indwelled with the Holy Spirit to be a born again and alive in Christ.

Using yoga, mindfulness and stress reduction techniques derived from Eastern religions are one way (not the only way) in maintaining the physical body so that it can better house the Holy Spirit. These techniques are good at training you to be more aware of your physical body and how it relates to this world. On the other hand, being sensitive to the Holy Spirit is essential for being more aware of God and how you relate to God’s kingdom. Seems like it is important to be aware of both. I think God wants us to be aware of both. For he gave us a physical body.

Being a Christian means that you have been born of water and spirit. We have a physical body that houses our soul and the Holy Spirit. Let’s learn to be in touch with both our physical and spiritual sides so that we are able to fulfill the purposes God has for us while on this earth. For us to walk by the spirit it is good to have a body that is in good enough physical condition to do the walking.