HIS

A pigtailed girl, barely six years old, sits in a hard-backed pew with avocado green seats. Her feet don’t quite reach the floor, and she doodles on the offering envelope while the preacher talks long. 

Then Jesus knocks on the door of her heart. 

When she hears His voice, she says “come in”, but doesn’t yet know He won’t be content to dwell in the little compartment of her heart she has reserved for Him, but instead wants all of her. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you?” (1 Corinthians 6:19)

Through the years, whether explicitly taught or tacitly implied, the lesson caught is that she must work hard to be pure and holy, a place worthy for the Spirit of God to dwell. Yet, the siren song of sin beckons, and holiness seems an unattainable goal. It’s hard to live as a princess, when a pauper is all you have been. 

The striving and the trying were only a dead end. She could never work hard enough to create a temple worthy of Him. Defeated and dejected, she surrendered to her sin.

But Jesus is the lover who won’t let go. His kindness leads to repentance. And so, it was, the pigtailed girl grew up, and came back to the One who had set His love upon her before the beginning of time. 

Washed in His Word, the Spirit showed her what was true all along. She was not an object of (His) wrath, but a vessel intended for righteousness. She was not dressed in pauper’s rags, begging and stealing for clothes to make her worthy of the King. Yes, the Prince had found her destitute, but it was He who had clothed her shame. He brought her to His table and gave her a new name. When the Father looked at her, He did not see who she had been. He did not demand for her to try harder to be worthy of the Son. He only saw the beauty granted through her union with Him. 

Beloved believers in Christ, our bodies are not meant for sexual immorality. All of our heart, every bit of strength, and each thought of our mind is intended for His glory. Our bodies, they belong to Him. We are HIS body. Would the bride of a Prince disgrace Him by using her body for prostitution, defiling both herself and Him? Never! And why? Because she knows whose she is.

Believer, you were bought with a price, that precious blood of Christ. As He breathed His last breath, the temple curtain was rent in two from top to bottom. No longer would the presence of God dwell in anything built by human hands, but His Holy Spirit now lives in His ransomed children. Beloved, you are not your own. You are His. You were made for Him, so now glorify God in your body.

Natalie Runyon