S128P3 – That which lies within: the Holy Spirit
1 Cor. 3:16-17
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
For those who did not share their faith, the ceremony of the moment might have seemed quite absurd. It looked like a regular building, but those waiting to enter it treated it very differently. The worshippers stood silently in single file outside their temple. As they entered the building, they would remove their shoes and set them aside. Ushers then would place a shawl over each person’s shoulders before directing them along to the cleansing station. After wetting and drying their faces and hands, the still silent worshippers passed through a door to the room where they would lay their praises and petitions before their god. Then, they would exit as quietly as they had entered.
By and large, places of worship will have a set of rules or protocols that visitors are expected to follow. Some practices will be more strict or extreme than others, but they all exist for the same reason. The place where a person goes to experience or approach their god is considered holy because the diety is considered holy. For us, that temple takes on a whole new meaning because our holy God lives within us, making us his temples. His Holy Spirit has taken up residence in us, so these bodies are the home of the living God. If we take a moment to think about the honor and respect with which we treat the houses of worship we visit, that is the same honor and respect with which we are required to treat these living temples.
Carrying the Spirit of God within us is a privilege that brings great responsibility. We are responsible to nurture a healthy and proper relationship with him. We are responsible to use the gifts God develops in us through that Spirit. We are responsible to treat the temple of that same Spirit with honor and respect because He is worthy. These bodies now belong to him and must be held in the proper regard. They are holy as He is holy because He resides in them. We are to treat these vessels as equally holy. Father, remind us that your Spirit dwells within us, and help us always to make these bodies a proper dwelling place for him.