Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are
written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore
let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no
temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who
will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the
temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
(1Corinthians 10: 11 – 13)
That Elijah had like passions as
we have is plainly stated in the Bible. That he was able to tackle immense odds
is also in the Bible.
Is there anything we can then
learn to help us minister aright and without failing in our generation? What
can we do to minister as effectively as he did?
The first thing we need to learn
is that we are flesh, feeble flesh. By this I mean that we have NOTHING in
ourselves qualifying us for greater (or any) usefulness except our utter
reliance on God’s grace and power.
The second is that that grace and
power is depended on our response to the revelation from the source of the
same. We do not use our power, experience or wisdom to run the affairs of that
grace. It is therefore our obedience that determines our effectiveness and
impact in ministry.
It is our alignment to the power
that works in us that will determine whether we thrive or shrivel.
How do we take care of these
earthen vessels that are our bodies as we minister in the power and anointing
resident in us?
Have you seen the way nations
guard and protect their instruments of power? I remember not long ago when a
leader who was not the head of state being rudely shoved off when he attempted
to touch, only touch, the world cup when it was making the rounds.
Imagine the treasure God has
invested in us is incomparably, in fact, way beyond the value of these emblems
and symbols. They are perishable, even
temporary treasures.
Does it not then mean that we
should guard these earthen vessels that are our bodies with even greater
effort? And the reason is that those are made and so can be remade. Though
carrying very high imparted value that depends on the one placing the value on
them, they really are material. A flag is simply a piece of cloth whose value
is dependent on the nation or state it represents. Even currency falls in that
category. Its value is dependent on the one making it legal tender. No wonder
we talk about devaluation.
What then does our body
represent? Who places value on our earthen vessels?
Answers to these questions
determine to a large extent how we manage those earthen vessels.
Many people think that the bodies
are theirs to do with as they will. They will therefore determine the regimen
their bodies will go through independent of anybody or anything else.
Yet we know that God really is
the OWNER of these bodies He has given us.
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy;
for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. (1Corinthians 3: 16,
17)
We are therefore answerable to
God for the way we manage these earthen vessels that are our bodies.
I know many think they know what
I am aiming at. But smile a little
because that is not where I am headed. Why?
For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto
all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to
come. (1Tmothy 4:8)
It is very easy to focus on the
vessel and neglect the treasure. What the Bible teaches is that we should allow
the treasure to determine how we take care of that vessel as it is the one
being ferried anyway. You see, a vessel ferrying liquids is different from the
one ferrying solids just like one ferrying water would be different from the one
ferrying mercury even though both are liquids.
Solomon is the best example of
one who for improving the state of the vessel lost the treasure. Let me
explain.
The first command to a king was
to copy the scriptures so that he would read them every day of his life as that
was the surest way to ensure balance between the treasure (God and His
revelation) and the vessel (Solomon and Israel).
For that oversight he overshot
all the targets God had set on his kingdom. He also became irrelevant to the
treasure as he did almost everything God had warned a king against.
We should not for our pursuit of
a perfect body overlook spiritual consequences inherent in some of the
activities meant to give us those bodies.
It is unwise to attend yoga
classes to improve ones health because it is first a spiritual exercise run by
contrary spirits.
I have mentioned aerobic and
salsa classes in another post, some even being run in church. This is where
barely dressed adults sweat their bodies to manage their weight. Knowing this
vessel, I am not surprised that some of those who come very innocently end up
getting into adultery and fornication.
These vessels have eyes; Eyes
that see more than they are supposed to see.
And it is not much different with
swimming for the same reason.
Let the treasure determine the
kind of regimen we subject these vessels to, from food to exercise to
occupation.
In short let the Bible be your
only source of instruction in the way you manage your body. And be the one who
is reading the Bible. Let me give us a verse
Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God
hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know
the truth. (1Timothy 4:3)
They will point you to particular
verse(s) to argue their point. Please consistently read the complete Bible
again and again to have the correct balance.
Do not become like Solomon who
started well but ended badly and rejected because he overlooked the scriptures.
And of course we know he ended up in regret (vanity of vanities, grasping the
wind).
With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy
commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against
thee. (Psalms 119: 10, 11)
God’s word is the insurance we
should place on those earthen vessels to keep them from breaking
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