BE A LIVING SANCTUARY

by Christian Health Coach, Trudy Beerman

Christian women are called to be distinctly different from their non-Christian counterpart.  This difference should not be a silent, private quirk of nature, but visible, identifiable, and active.

"You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God's likeness - righteous, holy and true." Ephesians 4:24 NLT

As we mix with the general population, it is impossible to identify a Christian woman solely by what we can see. Just like non-Christians, Christians are fat, unhealthy, and have lifestyles filled with habits that impact health negatively. 

Just like non-Christians, Christian singles, wives and mothers, will be among those spending billions with the weight-loss industry.  Just like non-Christians, many Christians will have very similar frustrating failures, and find they have wasted their hard-earned dollars. 
 
The choices Christians make regarding how they manage their resources, their lifestyle and their bodies are a matter of stewardship.  The Webster's Dictionary defines stewardship as the act of being responsible for the management of another's property, or being an attendant.

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body.”  1 Corinthians 6:19-20. NIV

When God occupied a physical temple in the earlier history of Israel, there was specific ways to care for that temple because it was a holy thing.  Christians must therefore treat their bodies, created in God's image, and the temple of the Holy Spirit - as a holy thing.
 
It is no surprise therefore, that the sin that separated man from God was the act of defiling the body through forbidden food.  Nor the method for the first temptation of Christ was a suggestion to turn stone to bread.  The appeal of the flesh is strong.  Gluttony and laziness are treated with contempt in the holy pages of the Bible.
 
"For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.   Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things." Philippians 3:18-19 NIV
 
"How long will you lie there, you sluggard?   When will you get up from your sleep?  A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest-- and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man. Proverbs 6: 9-11 NIV
 
Self control in eating, and exercise remains the ideal, lifetime results-oriented way to care for the body.  Pills, potions, and promises are not.
 
Victory in weight-loss and improvement in health have always been, and will always be an incredible opportunity to share with friends, and those around us who watch us closely. Parading stewardship of the body and the visible, identifiable, active outcome is a non-intimidating platform to share the Lord with others. 
 
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd* of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress,  and let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus on whom our faith depends from start to finish." Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT (*NIV uses cloud of witnesses.  Either way, the understanding is, we are being observed).
 
As Christian women, are we displaying care for the temple we have been entrusted with for the purpose of accomplishing God’s work – as a thing worthy of care? How do we become living sanctuaries?  God's forgiveness and restoration is a promise we can hold on to.  I challenge my sisters in Christ to make being a living sanctuary a lifetime resolution beginning right now.
 
 
Trudy Beerman, BA, is the founder of the International Christian Health and Fitness Alliance ICHFA.  She is a certified Personal Trainer, health and safety Instructor Trainer, and Presenter, and Vice President of Health Coach Plus, Inc  (813) 983-0879.




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