Temples of the Holy Spirit
Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Taking good care of these temples is essential for our earthly experience and our spiritual life. The better we feel the better we can serve our Saviour. During chronic illness and pain, we tend to examine the possibilities for our health and wellness through a new set of eyes. The first step is accepting that we have to take responsibility for our own bodies. No doctor can be all-knowing and no natural remedy can heal all. We have been made uniquely, so what works for one person may not work for another.
You have been fearfully and wonderfully made by a Creator who loves you and made you exactly how He intended. Nowhere does He say that he made you broken so that you need to be fixed. You are perfectly acceptable exactly the way you are right now, even with disease and pain.
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” – Psalm 139:14
How sick are we as a world community?
The World Health Organization (WHO) in 2014 rated America’s health care system as number 50 out of 55 countries that were assessed. This rating is listed from the best to the worst and the United States of America is fifth from the worse worldwide. Only Jordan, Colombia, Azerbaijan, Brazil and Russia ranked lower. WHO states that the total expenditure on health per capita is $9,403 and the gross national income per capita is $53,960 (2014 and 2013 respectively). The cost of healthcare is beyond reasonable for our incomes. Illness, disease and prescription usage are on the rise. Prayer groups are filled with increasingly ill people. The suffering from disease is horrific.
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” -Revelation 22:1-2 (NIV)
The bad news is that we are a sick “community” around the world, growing in disease and suffering. The good news is that there is hope to get us turned around, individually and as a world community. When we look at humans as God tells us in the Bible, we can see we are made in His image and we are a Triune Being.
Triune Being (Spirit/Soul/Body)
This is how Dr. Caroline Leaf (Christian neuroscientist) describes it.
- Spirit – intuition, communion, conscience
- Soul – intellect, emotions, free will (the mind)
- Body – physical substance we can see
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” – Romans 12:2 (NIV)