Readings for today: Ezra 10, 1 Corinthians 6, Psalms 31:9-18, Proverbs 21:3
“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
Our world is increasingly moving away from God. We reject God’s Law. We ignore God’s commands. We purposefully and intentionally rebel against God’s will. Take the Ten Commandments for example. Our culture celebrates greed or what the Bible calls “coveting.” We are becoming more and more comfortable with deceit, fake news, or what the Bible calls “false witness.” Stealing is acceptable as long as we don’t get caught. Sexual immorality is okay as long as it feels good. Murder is considered a “choice” especially when it comes to the unborn or the elderly. Families are breaking down as we dishonor our parents. Sabbath-keeping is a total lost cause. As are the first three commandments about honoring God. When one takes a step back and surveys the landscape, one can easily see the coordinated effort of the enemy.
Nothing is new under the sun. Our world today is no better or worse than the 1st century. The enemy is not all that creative. His tactics always remain the same. He does all he can to destroy the works of God in every culture, in every time, and every place. So if the words of the Apostle Paul to the believers at Corinth sound familiar at all, that shouldn’t surprise us. We are still dealing with sexual immorality. Still dealing with idolatry. Still dealing with stealing and deceit. Still dealing with addiction and suffering.
The great news is that God is still at work as well. Still reaching people. Still transforming hearts. Still changing lives. Why do we keep the Law of God? Why do we live lives of honor and honesty? Why do we live lives of faithfulness and sexual purity? Why do we live lives of kindness and humility? We do these things not to earn God’s favor. Not to gain our way into heaven. Not to make God love us. We do these things because we’ve been bought with a price. We do these things out of gratitude for what Christ has done for us. Laying down His life in order to save us from our sin.
I love how Paul puts it, “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11) You see, without Christ we are enslaved to sin. We can’t help ourselves. We are broken people. Our desires are all disordered. Our minds are warped and twisted. Our wants and needs are self-centered. It’s not that we can’t do anything good. Of course we can. It’s that even at our best we are corrupt. Even our best laid plans go awry. Even our greatest ideas for human flourishing fall short. Human history is replete with legions of examples.
So how are you intentionally glorifying your body? More importantly, why are you glorifying God in your body? Does it flow from a deep well of gratitude for what He’s done for you? Does it rest on His finished work on the cross? Do you have the sense that you are building your life on the foundation He has poured? Or are you trying to white-knuckle your faith? Trying to keep the Law of God in your own strength or because you’re trying to earn your way into God’s favor? Let me encourage you to reflect deeply on Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. Pay attention to the progression. You are not your own. You were bought with a price. So glorify God with your body. Resist the temptation to reverse engineer the process. Let His grace fill you. Lead you. Guide you. Secure you.
Readings for tomorrow: Nehemiah 1:1-3:14, 1 Corinthians 7:1-24, Psalms 31:19-24, Proverbs 21:4