For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said, "I will live in them and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." (2 Cor 6:16)
I am sure that many of us have received invitations from friends to join them at the
gym. I myself am a believer in fitness and exercise. But I admit that whenever I want to
go to the gym, I suddenly have this powerful urge to stay home and watch my favorite TV
program. I usually have to struggle to get out of my rut and exercise. It’s as if my bed
has a powerful magnet! My wife berates me for being so lazy when the gym is right down
the first floor of our condo and it’s free.
And when it comes down to food, I gravitate towards fried foods, especially Chinese
cuisine. I just love Cantonese and Tze Chuan food! But for over a year now, my wife
refused to buy pork and only served me chicken, fish and vegetables and she seldom fries
but mostly steam or cook them in a stew. Or she prepares pasta marinara with olives in
olive oil with vegetable salad on the side. Needless to say, I am eating healthy, except
when we dine out. But to ensure that I get an extreme measure of vitamins and
minerals, I eat a scoop of chia seeds together with my coffee in the morning aside from
my multivitamins.
Why am I telling you all this? No, I am not a transformed health guru; but I do
believe in a balanced lifestyle.
I have seen people who go the extra mile and really take an hour daily to go to the
gym to exercise and even hire a personal trainer to ensure they are doing their exercises
in the right manner to optimize physical results. This is very admirable because it is
always good to be at peak physical form. After all, it takes a lot to gain a six pack.
Although you can get a six pack with a spray, its always better to have the real thing. If
you don’t get it, ask an actor! Many health nuts do this because they worship the Temple and
not the One who dwells in the Temple.
YHWH created us beautifully, wonderfully and marvelously. We are the crowning glory of
His creation. We should maintain and keep our bodies healthy. If you knew the President is
coming to visit, you would definitely do some extreme cleaning. After all, you wouldn’t want
the President to think you were a slob. You would probably bring out your best curtains, buy
expensive décor, brush up everything and make it look spick and span and even hire a chef to
cook up the best meal possible. You would do anything to please the President.
How about YHWH? He dwells in you and is present wherever you go. Wouldn’t you
want Him to dwell in the best house in your neighborhood? Some of us would put
garbage into our house and expect YHWH to like it. Some would even say, I can eat
anything I want since I am a New Testament person. I just pray over it and I expect God
to make it good! Really? What was the point in YHWH giving us a dietary command in
the Old Testament if He was just joking? So why did YESHUA bother to follow the
dietary rules? By the way, YESHUA did not only follow all the dietary rules but even
fulfilled all the Old Testament commands. His warning was, “So anyone who breaks one
of the least of these commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in the
kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called
great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:19). If we want to be physically healthy, we only
need to take YHWH commands seriously!
Even more necessary, is our spiritual intake. As Jeremiah said, “Your Words were
found, and I ate them; and Your Word was to me the joy and gladness of my heart; for I
am called by Your name, O YHWH, the God of Hosts”(Jer 15:16). Yes, we need to be
physically healthy to serve YHWH with gusto, but all the more, we need to be always at
spiritually peak form to serve YHWH with all our souls. An abundant life, here on earth,
is a balanced life. The physical form is just a manifestation of the spiritual form.
Only YHWH can give us a spirit of love, of power and of soundness. If we are
spiritually healthy, then YHWH will give us the power to overcome our laziness to
exercise and energy to serve passionately. He will give us the motivation to eat rightly
and follow His dietary commands for it is good for us. The HOLY SPIRIT will energize
our taste buds to gain a liking for vegetables and dislike for unhealthy foods.
The righteous shall live by his faith! If we are truly followers of YESHUA, then we
will do as He did. What kind of theology is it that expects YESHUA to follow the Torah
and yet excuses the believer from following the same rules? What’s the point of calling
ourselves believers and followers, if we neither believe nor follow? That kind of theology
is nothing but a sham!
To believe is to do and to do is to be….however, this may take some doing by the grace
of YHWH!
מלאך
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