1 Peter 1:7 - Proof of Your Faith

So that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ...

1 Peter 1:7

Beth Moore was asked the question: "If you could go back, what would you tell your 24-year-old self?" After much thought and soul-searching, her final response was, "I would. Not. Tell. Her. A. Single. Thing."

This connected with me so sharply because, despite my constant longing to know what is coming next, I would also leave my poor 24-year-old self in complete ignorance.

In college, I discovered one of my favorite poems, Tennyson's In Memoriam A. H. H. It has connected so sharply to most of my own literary attempts and musings, the part that touched me the most dramatically coming right at the beginning of the poem:

We have but faith: we cannot know;

For knowledge is of things we see;

And yet we trust it comes from thee,

A beam in darkness: let it grow.

Let knowledge grow from more to more,

But more of reverence in us dwell;

That mind and soul, according well,

May make one music as before,

But vaster. 

(The whole beginning makes me want to cry at how profound, beautiful, sad and GENIUS it is...)

In that class, we discussed that God makes us walk in faith because our finite human minds cannot bear what is coming next, whether it is something beautiful or something tragic. If something beautiful is coming up, we would not be of any practical good in whatever day-to-day drudgery or pain we may be enduring to strengthen and prepare us. If something tragic is coming, it would be very difficult to fully open up to the joy and blessings that God may have in that prior season.

God and God alone knows what the future holds for each one of us. 

Looking over the good and the bad that I have experienced over the last five years, I feel a strong confidence in God. It is one thing to decide to place your trust in someone. It is something else to see that same person use the brokenness of your worst fears like the most talented artist using their favorite shade of black over a rainbow of all your favorite colors. 

The colors were awe-inspiring before, but with the picture painted in sharp definition over them, they are mind-blowing to you.

With my own choice, I would've kept that black as far from the artist's hand as possible, but that artistic choice was not mine to make.

I'm only glad that I've had the chance to see my faith and strength in the Lord increase. I know that as long as life lasts, trials will come, testing that. But I know who holds my hand, who has the permission to paint with the black ink. And I want proof of my faith to grow....

Vaster.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20: The Holy Spirit's Temple

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

When I think of a temple, I think of a very silent, still, beautifully arranged space that allows people of faith to enter and contemplate the things of God along with prayer and worship, their experience enhanced by their surroundings. I've been in some old cathedrals and beautifully built churches, but the closest I've ever felt to a "temple" sort of feeling, at least as far as the building is concerned, was inside of the Library of Congress, where the beauty of the art and architecture instilled a deep awe (at least for this book nerd) of the things inside the library.

The temple built by Solomon in Old Testament times was a magnificent feat to behold - the finest materials, the most intricate and costly architecture, and all the elements God desired to be symbols of the heavenly temple and of the price Jesus would pay for our redemption (Hebrews 9). This temple had to have been awe-inspiring in many ways, but the part that is amazing is that it was designed by God not merely to be beautiful but also for specific purposes - present and future.

To call a believer's body a temple of the Holy Spirit is not just an abstract or poetic statement. At the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit enters each believer to stay, reside, make that body His dwelling place. The Holy Spirit is not a vague force; He is a member of the divine Trinity. To try to wrap my mind around the idea that a part of the Godhead lives in me is intimidating at times.

This passage is referring to believers keeping their bodies holy by fleeing from sexual immorality. Verse 13 in the same chapter also refers to "foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods" as an attitude that a person shouldn't take toward sexual appetites. I believe this also includes a lifestyle of health in addition to remaining sexually pure.

True, the bodies we believers currently have are "weak" and "mortal" and will be changed into "glorious bodies" (Philippians 3:21), but we're talking about the fact that right now they still serve the function of literal temples of the for-real Holy Spirit. 

This makes a difference in regards to how we should be treating our bodies as Christians. What kind of toxic, artificial substances are we consuming on a daily basis when God, at Creation, created all types of foods to nourish and heal us? What kind of self-destructive behaviors are we engaging in on a daily basis? There are battles that Christians who really love the Lord struggle with on a daily basis: alcohol, drug, and food addictions; eating disorders; exercise addictions; self-harm; sexual addictions.

The ways we are destructive to ourselves and, in consequence, the Holy Spirit's temple, are endless.

The struggle is real.

But the fight is necessary.

Since we have been bought with a price, we belong to God - body, soul, and spirit. We are called to glorify Him in our bodies. In our own human strength, treating our bodies like temples in a God-glorifying manner is, frankly, straight up impossible. But we can allow the Holy Spirit to help us to walk in freedom and to understand the ways we are being led to make our temples beautiful, inside and out.

For me, that is going to involve a focus on spiritual and physical health in the upcoming year. Not for a diet. Not to look beautifully impressive by the world's standards. I want my body functioning in the best way possible so that I can use my body to serve others and not be held back by my own lack of physical health. I want my temple to be as God-glorifying as possible, even the "architecture" of my body. 

Part of Isaiah 61:3, one of my life verses, reads:

In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory.

I want that to describe me - body, soul, and spirit.

Mark 12:30-31 - Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength

And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these.
Mark 12:30-31

These are the two greatest commandments - the things I should be dropping everything else for.

Jesus says we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The phrase is so familiar to most believers that we are in danger of just reciting it without thinking about what each area entails. We love God, of course. It's why we even bother at all. But loving in theory and loving in actuality are not the same.

God wants my heart. He doesn't want me to serve him from a motivation of guilt or a performance-based mentality. He wants me to want to serve Him. I have to check my motives carefully. Just as in any human relationship, being involved with your heart means that you care, you have feelings about what you're doing, you are enthusiastic. You can't be a passionate robot. Passion involves your emotions, not a programmed response.

God wants my soul. I had to look up exactly what is meant by soul here because the idea of "loving God with your soul" sounded very abstract to me. The soul is the very core of yourself. Who you are. Your identity. So loving with your soul involves your choices, your habits, your SELF. I would describe myself as a Christian, wife, mom, reader/writer, INFP. But somewhere in there, in fact the most crucial part, should be the fact that I love God. I need to think of myself as a God-lover before any of those other aspects.

God wants my mind. This one is the hardest one for me. My mind is all over the place, and I don't mean that as a compliment. I feel like loving God with my mind requires me to exercise self-control in a lot of my mental habits, and bring my own understanding about things into alignment with God's understanding. There are so many verses that talk about breaking down mental strongholds, thinking only on what is pure and lovely, setting one's mind on things above. I could go on and on.

God wants my strength. I usually think of myself as being pretty weak. I have emotional struggles more frequently than I would like. Sometimes my skin is too thin. But the whole point here is using my strength. Only God knows the true measure of what we are capable of. Sometimes it's strength enough just to hold on. Sometimes it's strength to grow and push through pain. The working out metaphor is used for this all the time, but it's true. You can't keep the strength you don't use. Using more than you are capable of makes you stronger. It's the tearing of muscle fibers that builds them back up. Seriously, insert the whole concept of The Biggest Loser here in a spiritual context.

I am to love my neighbor as myself. Note: this does say that I am supposed to love myself. In this passage, loving oneself is a given. A personal pet-peeve of mine is when anyone derides the concept of "self-esteem." Yes, I know it is constantly misused, but a proper, biblical understanding of it has also brought life and peace to many. 

We are broken and flawed by nature, but in Christ we are chosen, accepted, pure, righteous - with our names inscribed on God's hands. We have value because he gives us value. Loving myself doesn't mean that I love myself with my heart, soul, mind, and strength because that is reserved for God. It does mean that I agree with God about my new identity and set healthy boundaries with myself and others.

Loving others as I love myself means that I think of others and think of how to care for them spiritually, emotionally, and physically just like I do for myself. Maybe some do have to go secure their own air mask before attempting to secure the air mask of others. But reaching out and loving is good for our souls. It takes the focus off of ourselves and helps us to truly be the body of Christ.