I wish you could drop by for a visit. If you could, I’d tell you it’s the small house on the corner—the beige one with the green shutters. We could sit on the front porch where I’ve hung two pots of purple flowers and a fern. Or, if it were too hot outside, we could hang out in my living room that I’ve decorated to look like the inside of a beach cottage. Then, you could spend the night in one of my three little bedrooms that I’ve prepared for guests.
I love my home.... probably even more so now than when I moved in last August. That’s because I’ve put a lot of work into making it a home that I feel relaxed and comfortable in—a home that reflects my personality and interests.
As much as I delight in my home, love to share it with others, and feel like it’s mine... it’s not. It belongs to someone else: my landlord. I’m just the tenant or renter.
The same is true of the other house I take care of each day: my body. It might sound weird to think of our bodies as houses, but that’s what God says. His Holy Spirit lives inside each of us who have put our faith in Jesus Christ:
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? (1 Corinthians 6:19).”
Just like I feel like my beige house with green shutters belongs to me, I feel like my body belongs to me. You probably feel the same way about yours. And yet, they don’t. God owns them:
“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:20).”
It’s sort of like this: Jesus Christ purchased your crumbling, condemned “house” at a most exorbitant price—with His life blood.
He didn’t stop there. He took up residence within your home through His Holy Spirit!
This same Holy Spirit is busy fixing up your home—making it a place that He is comfortable in—a home that reflects His perfect character to others. He wants to make your home a place where others are welcomed, loved, and refreshed.
Are you acting like the owner or the tenant of your house today? Are you letting the Holy Spirit make you over, or are you resisting His transformational touches?
