Saturday, October 23, 2010

An Act of Faithfulness


As Featured On EzineArticles(“He who is faithful in little will be faithful in much.”) Paraphrase of Luke 19:17

If you are someone who believes that your body is the product of design rather than then the product of pointless accidental mutation, then the above statement needs to be expanded from its historical application to the first and most significant gift from the incomprehensible genius, creator of all things that made the human body a work of animated art. The body, which includes ones brain which is our interface with reality, the means to acquire experience knowledge understanding and wisdom. 

The Apostle Paul referred to the body as a tent, as something in which our spiritual self is clothed. Because of this, I perceive that many people feel that it's such a temporary manifestation of ourselves that it would be wiser to focus on the eternal things that last; and I wouldn't argue this point except to add that if God evaluates one's sense of responsibility by the little things we have now, how is it that the physical body is exempt as being one of those responsibilities.

I think that Christian people are frequently dissuaded from making their bodies all they can be for the above reason and perhaps, more because of a stigmatization of fitness training etc. as being narcissistic, egotistical and vain. It can be all these things, but it doesn't have to be. Like so many other things in life, the right or wrong of it lies in the attitude. The Christian should be oriented towards bringing glory to the creator and not one's self.

Jesus, who as the personification of God, got down on his knees and washed the feet of his creation demonstrating the serving and generous nature of God. What I'm saying is that God shares his Glory, which does not contradict God saying he will not give his glory to another. He shares some of it, and when we are cognizant of this fact, and when we use this fact to shape our attitude, it changes our perspective on our talents, skills and physical beauty if that is one of our gifts.

Yes, people with physical beauty often have an attitude of self importance and a predisposition for self glorification; but that doesn't make the gift evil or less valuable. One who possesses a gift and is thankful and has the humble serving attitude of Christ can display their gift proudly. Proud of the father that could conceive of fabulous things like subtle dexterous fingers, eyes, ears and the brains faculties of perception. A beautiful women can be a neon sign pointing to the wonderful nature of the giver or a decadent self indulgent usurper of the glory that isn't actually hers, and the same goes for men.

A degenerated human body certainly is no neon sign pointing to the glory of God. A well maintained and developed body most certainly is. It is a lesson all in itself. The reality that God has created for us speaks to us in everything. Male and female, families and the roles of parent, child, husband and wife communicate to us things that couldn't be learned in any book. Various roles, mother, father child and the love and sense of responsibility one feels for another. Because of this reality we have a reference point from which to understand the infinite person that is God. We can envision God as love, as good, as a father, and be able to accept his gifts that we had no part in producing or could have conceived of in the first place.

How is the human body a lesson? The body is like other gifts from God, he does most of the work, but because he has a role as a father, he teaches by leaving a portion for us to do. The portion that is our responsibility is the care maintenance and work that is needed to make the body a sign that points to God's glory. We must learn to suffer a little and to be diligent to accomplish this; and when we are successful, God shares some of his glory with us.

The physical body may be temporary, but the character we learn by caring for a gift of God is not. Our body is one little thing we have to be faithful in, something which is our responsibility; which in actuality is being responsible to God if our attitudes are correctly oriented towards exposing his glory. If we can't be responsible for this temporary gift, which is our bodies, how can we show God that we value what he provides and that we will be faithful in possessing his greater gifts?