6 ESSENTIALS FOR YOUR BODY – Week 5

Monday, May 24 As we get started with week five of our study on the body, we step into a large topic. Our material speaks of our environment, our context, the setting for our health. Think of the Garden of Eden, the original setting for the first two human beings. Everything about Eden set them up for a flourishing life, a life of joy and peace. They had a mission to fulfill, and they had the resources they needed. They also had the presence of God, the one that walked with them in the Garden in the cool of the day. Yes, there were challenges. Temptation was nearby. They could fall. But God gave them the perfect environment in which to thrive.

Genesis 2:7-9 …then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Now, the bad news is that we no longer live in the garden. It’s worse than that. Actually, we feel the weight of the curse. Taking care of ourselves and others is hard work. It requires intention and discipline. The way toward health is not a given. It is not easy. But the good news is that we can create a context for health that supports the decisions we make each day. What do I mean? When Adam and Eve left the garden of Eden, God didn’t abandon them. He also doesn’t leave us alone. God cares for us. We need to begin this week with the gospel. Over a 10-year study, Israeli researchers looked at parents and their parenting styles. They have looked at two types of parenting, conditional love and unconditional love. One is those parents whose affection varies to the extent that their children are well-behaved, self-controlled, or impressive at school or sports. The other is those whose love does not reflect those limits. Here is what they discovered. Indeed, children who had parents whose love clearly varied did get a little bit better grades and do a little better in sports, but when these children became adults, they resented and disliked their parents. The researchers saw in them what they called:

…the development of a fragile, contingent...and unstable sense of self.

Yes, if you withhold love, only giving it out when your kids perform for you, you can get a little better performance from your kids but at what price? Maybe you are worried. What will our kids do if they learn that we will love them no matter what? The research says: They’ll thrive. Now, as we think of our environment this week, this is where God begins with us. He doesn’t withhold his love, waiting until the day when we pull ourselves together. He hasn’t set performance goals for us that open the way for approval from him. He starts and ends with his steadfast love. He loves us when we are struggling and when we are meeting goals. He tells us his life with him is not about our goal but about enjoying his presence in every chapter of our lives. God wants you, not your performance. And here’s the remarkable thing. We do better when we start with his acceptance. We don’t feel the burden of proving ourselves, and we can better come to accept that way he made us. And he made each of us different. That’s why we really shouldn’t compete with each other in this. Some of us have genes that predispose us to staying thin. Others of us have the opposite, and that is okay. We are not in a contest to win God’s love, nor should we be in a contest to win acceptance in the community. We need an environment of God’s love and a community that sees us in the same way. So, as we are getting started with this topic today, let’s start there. Do you believe that somehow God loves you less when are struggling with health issues, or that somehow you deserve the challenges you face? Look at the cross and think again. At the cross, God showed the magnitude of his love for us. He isn’t asking us to earn it, but giving it to us freely so that we can enjoy him and the life he is giving to us. It’s all of grace. Remember that.

Let’s pray: Lord God, why do we think that the measure of your love equals the measure of our obedience or success? We know it is not true and that Jesus came to show us the true nature of your love for us. Thank you for creating an environment where I can thrive. Thank you for removing from me the burden of my success. Thank you for Jesus. I pray in his name. Amen.

Tuesday, May 25 In 2016, a USA Today op-ed article appeared entitled: Religion May Be a Miracle Drug. The piece begins with these words: If one could conceive of a single elixir to improve the physical and mental health of millions of Americans—at no personal cost—what value would our society place on it? The author was speaking about what studies have revealed about church participation. Studies show that over a 15-year period, participation in the life of a church reduced mortality (that is people dying) by rates of 20-30 percent. People that are part of a spiritual community have lower rates of depression, are more optimistic, are less likely to commit suicide, and more self-controlled. The list goes on. What about the environment of a church makes the difference? First, there are the people, the supportive community. You are not alone with your struggles or your joys. You face the challenges surrounded by other people doing the same.

Here’s our text for today: 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Here is that community and the life that it cultivates. It is easy to go in the direction we’d like to go in life when others are going the same direction. But it is more than that. The teachings of the faith help cause life to flourish. What teachings? First, there is gratitude. Living in a community of gratitude and a life of thankfulness is transformative. Robert Emmons, the leading researcher on the power of gratitude, says that this changes the tone and tenor of our lives and communities. We can focus on the negative and always be critical and complaining, but this tends to bring people down and hamstring them, making their lives more difficult. Gratitude and joy do the opposite. They set us on a course of growth and mutual support, enabling us to face the tough challenges that come into our lives each day. Then there is giving. A community formed on grace is all about giving. That means showing up with love to support the people around you. This is done in practical ways such as encouragement and the gift of presence. Here is Jonathan Haidt describing what he discovered: Religious believers give more money than secular folk to secular charities and to their neighbors. They give more of their time too, and their blood. The gospel creates a community of mutual giving and love. The gospel also transforms our view of work from being a job or career to entering into a calling. New meaning is invested in everything you do. Christians come to see their work as part of their worship. They also see the care of each other and the care for their bodies as part of the way they honor God. This change in perspective is transformative. The Christian faith also teaches us the way of perseverance and self-control. Jesus models this life for us and then invites us to live it as well.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith… Hebrews 12:1-2

Yes, we are looking to Jesus. Notice where he leads us. Endurance. Faithfulness. It is Jesus who is shaping us and providing us the context, the environment for life. This is why we are meant to look to him, to learn from him, and to follow him. Now, we don’t do this to gain anything from God but because we have been loved by God. Jesus has invited us into the abundant life with him, the life that is really life. Maybe we don’t perceive that self-control and discipline come with our faith because it is all of grace. But, look at the fruit of the Spirit of God, the result of the Spirit working in our lives. You will find self-control. You see, our faith is not against work and discipline, but it is not about earning. Jesus has already done all of that for us at the cross. And that is our context: we are loved by God, led and filled by the Spirit of God, and equipped for every good work. No, religion is not a wonder drug, but it is through faith in Christ that we are given a new life, made new creations and able to serve God with our bodies in all that we do and are. It is the joy of our place in God that sustains us and carries us through each day and each challenge.

Let’s pray: Lord God, you have given us all that we need for life in Jesus Christ. You have given us more than teachings, you have given your Son, and you have provided to us your Spirit. Enable us to keep in step with your Holy Spirit, not to frustrate the work you plan to do in us and through us. Thank you for your faithful love and your sustaining presence. Help me this day to see your mercy and grace that I might walk in you. In your name I pray. Amen.

Wednesday, May 26 In Jonathan Haidt’s book entitled the Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom, he discovers that our environment makes all the difference in the world to how happy and well-adjusted we are. Mind you, Haidt is not a Christian. He’s a secular Jewish scholar. But his research led him in a direction that perhaps he did not anticipate. In his book, Haidt gives us the stories of two different people. First, there is Bob. Bob is 35 years old, single, white, attractive and athletic. He earns $100,000 a year and lives in sunny, Southern California. He is highly intellectual and spends his free time reading and going to museums. Mary, on the other hand, lives with her husband in snowy, Buffalo, New York, where their combined income is $40,000. Mary is sixty-five years old, black, overweight, and plain in appearance. She is highly sociable, and she spends her free time mostly in activities related to her church. She is on dialysis for kidney problems. Mary’s life has been difficult for sure. Who would prefer Mary’s difficult life to Bob’s life? Now, here’s the amazing thing. Mary is happier than Bob. How could that be? First, she’s in a stable and supportive marriage. She gives and receives love, and she is in a thriving church community. Here is what Haidt discovered: Just as plants need sun, water, and good soil to thrive, people need love, work, and a connection to something larger.

Here is our text for today: John 10:9-11 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

The sheep and shepherd metaphor is a perfect one to turn to in scripture to understand the power of our environment in shaping us. In the ancient world, shepherds had an important role. Their care is used to teach us about the care and provision of God.

Here’s Psalm 23:1-3 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

The shepherd was responsible for the sheep because they cannot care for themselves. They can’t provide for themselves or protect themselves. Here’s what the shepherd would do. He would lead the sheep along paths where they were safe. He didn’t drive them, but he walked in front of them to provide protection. He knew there were predators and led them away from danger. He knew that if they were frightened, they wouldn’t eat. They couldn’t rest. They wouldn’t thrive. He knew that if he led them to a rushing river, they wouldn’t drink. They needed pools of still water. He knew this because he knew and understood his sheep. This is the way life is with our shepherd Jesus. He lived life as a human being. He knows how we are made and how to provide a context in which we can flourish. He leads us to this place through his steadfast love. How does that happen? First, he shows us that we are secure in him. There is nothing that can tear us away from his love, nothing that can separate us from him. That’s when a sheep would be in greatest danger, when he became separated from the flock. The sheep had no way to defend himself. He could only bleat to get the shepherd’s attention. The shepherd would come to rescue him, lift him up on his shoulders and return him to the flock. King David said, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall have everything I need. He will direct my life. He will care for me and sustain me through each season. He will feed me and also protect me when I am in danger. These are some of the most beautiful words in scripture, but we have to appropriate them by seeing that Jesus is our good shepherd. That is what Jesus was claiming when he spoke to his disciples and to the others with them: I am the one David spoke about. I am willing to lay down my life to secure the happiness and joy of my sheep, to keep them safe. It is his care for us as our shepherd that sets us on a course for life that is abundant, full, and free.

Let’s take some time to read those words today from Psalm 23 and meditate on them: The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Let’s pray: Our loving Lord, we think we take care of ourselves, but if we have lived very long, we know better. You are the one that faithfully guides us. You are constantly speaking your love into our lives and making provision for us. Cause us, we pray, to know the depth of the riches you have provided to us in Christ. Give me your peace as I rest in you. For I pray in your name. Amen.

Thursday, May 27 Years ago, I was invited on an adventure to explore part of Alaska called Glacier Bay. This is a beautiful area with amazing wildlife and stunning landscapes. We would explore this pristine and beautiful area by boat. We arrived in Juneau, Alaska to meet the boat we would use, a 41-foot trawler. Now, Alaska is known for its beauty, but it can also be a very dangerous place. The weather can be extreme and life-threatening, and the water is frigid. Falling overboard could be a life-ending experience if you cannot get to dry ground quickly. Before setting out, we had the challenge of making sure we had all the gear we would need. The correct clothing. The food supplies. And the plan for the adventure. We wanted to have a safe plan and everything we would need along the way. Mind you, the part of Alaska we were visiting had cold light rain almost 300 days a year. But folks in Alaska have a saying, “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” In other words, we can enjoy almost any day in Alaska if we prepare wisely for it. Now, this week in our 6 ESSENTIALS study is about providing the context, the environment for health.

Here’s our passage for today: 2 Peter 1:3-4 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Now, the apostle Peter tells us that Jesus not only came and provided us with life. He also made sure we would have everything. He not only calls us to an abundant life; he also provides every resource we need in Christ. How does he do this? Yes, it is in Christ that all the riches are found and the full provision of what we need for the life God calls us to live. You ask, how does this work? As Tim Keller says, the gospel is not just the ABCs, the way we get started in our life with God; it is the A to Z for us, providing everything we need. It is his love that enables us to grow. It is his mercy that drives away fear and doubt. It is his provision of grace, and our new identity we have in him, that becomes the foundation of all that we are. He gives us all things. We have nothing to add. Yes, it is true. You can endure any weather if you have the right clothing. You see, we have the clothing of Christ. Our problem is that we think it all must come from us. When we believe this, we fail to appropriate the fullness of what we have in Christ. So, yes, our health and living healthy lives is made possible through the gospel. That makes me ask, well then how can I appropriate what God has provided me in him?

Here’s how Peter continues to explain: 2 Peter 1:5-8 5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, this is how we may misunderstand this text. We hear that God has provided us with every resource in Christ, but now we hear that we need to add to his recipe. This is a daunting list. Faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control and so on. But if we see it this way, we miss the point. I like to think of it like this. God provides us with an entire orchestra to make music. Everything is provided. In the process of conducting, the conductor adds the instruments that are needed for the sounds, the music he wants to make. Yes, everything is there. He simply needs to add the sounds. The musicians are present and ready to go. This is how our lives are described. God has already provided it all. This list, this description, sounds like the fruit of the Spirit because it is. God has made this life possible through his Holy Spirit. He has provided what you need to thrive, to be healthy, to enjoy and glorify God. I love the way the passage ends. Using the resources that God provides will keep us from being ineffective and unproductive in our knowledge of Christ. In other words, what benefit will Christ be in our lives if we do not put into service all that he provides to us? What benefit is that instrument in the orchestra if never allowed to play, if not used to make beautiful music? Now, let me tell you what happened in Alaska. We had a glorious week in one of the most beautiful places on earth. We saw killer whales and various kinds of dolphins, grizzly bears and eagles. We caught fish. We enjoyed one of the most dangerous and beautiful places on earth because we had everything we needed. We even went through severe and dangerous weather, but we had the right clothes, and we were fine. Do you know you already have the right clothes? You have the riches in Christ and, as a result, you are equipped for life and for every good work.

Let’s pray: Lord God, how often do we think we need to add something to what you have given us in Christ? Help us to see that you have given us everything we need. Show us that the presence of your Holy Spirit means we have access to knowledge and goodness and self-control and peace. Thank you for making provision for us fully in Christ. For we pray in his name. Amen.

Friday, May 28 One of the people that has most helped me understand grace is an Episcopalian priest named Paul Zahl. But even he has left me in the lurch on occasion. Here is one of those times.

He said in one of his books: I have written nine other books about Christianity, but I have underemphasized until now the role of the Holy Spirit in practical Christianity. The main reason I believe in the three-in-oneness of God is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit represents the ever absent Father and the presently absent Son. Without the Holy Spirit, we have nothing in the now. With the Holy Spirit, we can love in the one-way direction of grace and trust the result.

It was there his chapter ended, and he never picked up the conversation about the work of the Holy Spirit. He said that our only experience of God in our lives here and now comes through the Spirit of God. You can see how he left me hanging. Maybe you have felt this way as well. We know that our new life only comes through the power of the Holy Spirit, but we speak so little of Him. We know that Jesus gave us his Spirit so that he might be with us to the end of the age, but we know so little of the Spirit. We know that the Spirit provides to us all the riches of Christ, but we understand so little of how this takes place. What does the Spirit of God do? How can I cooperate with the Spirit as the grace of Jesus is applied in my life? Now, this is important for us this week because we are talking about how God sets us up for health, how God provides everything we need, and how we align our lives to receive these gifts of God. So, this is the secret sauce behind the recipe that makes possible the abundant life of which Jesus speaks. Often it is because we do not understand the work of the Spirit and do not participate with life in the Spirit that we think it all depends on us. We make Christianity about God giving us a little boost so that we can do life with a little more discipline and hard work. It then comes down to our willpower, our effort. But the gospel tells us a different story. Jesus didn’t come to put his new wine into the old wineskins of religion or to sew a little patch on our lives so that they could work a little better. He came to give us an entirely new life, one filled with his presence and empowered by his Spirit.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. -2 Corinthians 5:17-19

Yes, Paul’s perspective is pretty shocking. Jesus didn’t put a patch on here and make an adjustment there. He has created us anew. He has put our lives on a completely new footing, changed our story entirely. Paul would tell us that our problem with health or discipline or our weak wills goes back to the rift between us and God. God made us for fellowship with himself, and we can only thrive as we know and enjoy God. Along the way, the first human beings walked away from God and lost their peace, their joy, and their lives in the process. In Christ, we become new creatures. The fellowship we once had is more than restored. His Spirit dwells in us, providing us an intimate, personal connection to God, our loving Father. It is this new life that we learn to live, one in which we are no longer at odds with God, but his beloved children, enjoying him and living our lives to his glory. This is the context for our new life, the environment we live in. We have nothing to prove, no guilt to remove, no standard to measure up to, no shame to cover. We are his, and his Spirit leads us each step of the way.

Let’s pray: Faithful and gracious Father, we spend a lifetime exploring the riches we have in Christ. Prompt us by your Spirit to remind us we are yours, and that our lives are now hidden with Christ in you. Help us to set our minds on Christ and to trust the leading of your Holy Spirit. Teach us your ways O Lord, for we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Saturday, May 29 In one of the adoption stories I have read, Bob tells about his mother giving birth to him when she was 15 years old. She had run away from home and fell into the arms of a soldier. She took up residence near an army base and had five children with five different men over the five years. Bob was one of those children, and eventually the state took the children away. Bob bounced from foster home to foster home. In one foster home, they were made to eat and drink out of the dog’s dish. Another was filled with violence. They saw one foster father beat their foster mother to death. Bobby was so insecure and afraid, he wet the bed until he was 11 years old. One foster parent took the soiled sheets from the bed, wrapped him in the sheets and made him stand at the door to his school as all the children came in to humiliate him.

Here’s the way Bob explains it: Between the ages of 6 and 12, I was in eight homes. I was a Winners, an Edwards, a Strickland, a Lee. I never had my own name. I had the social ability of a five-year old. In the 6th grade one of my teachers wrote on the bottom of my report card, “This boy will never amount to anything.” I thought God had abandoned me…

But over in western Washington there was a fisherman who was 45 years old. He and his wife could have not children and were desperate to adopt a child. They were too old to get a baby. They managed to get their hands on a book with the pictures of 500 teenage orphans. Children no one wanted. The woman opened the book and looked through the pictures.

Here are Bob’s words again: For some reason known only to God, she stopped at my picture and said, “That’s my boy.” I’ll never forget that day Christmas in 1959, when this amply built woman came rushing to me, and enfolded me into her flesh and said, “I love you, Bobby.” That is the first time in my life I can remember being told I was loved.

For Bob, the provision of home and love and security and opportunity changed his life. As I read his story, it is with the understanding that all of us are living an adoption story in Christ. We didn’t have our identity secure. We were without the foundation we needed until God came to us in Jesus.

Here is the apostle Paul explaining: Romans 8:15-17 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ…

This is how we become the new creation of God in Christ. We are given a completely new life. Now, God is our loving Father. We know who we are. We are provided the Spirit of God and included in the family of God. We have an inheritance we can never lose.

We are actually incorporated into Christ’s own life—that is what union with Christ is... which enables adoption and new life as adopted children, by the Spirit’s power. -Todd Billings

As Paul describes to us our adoption into the family of God, he uses the concept of adoption from the Roman world.

Here’s what happened in Roman adoption: All of your old debts are canceled. You receive a new name and become an heir of all your father has. Your new father becomes liable for all your actions. You live to honor your new father and assume a permanent place in your new family. You receive security and welcome, love and acceptance in your new family.

Yes, this is the new abundant life we have been learning about this week. This new relationship and family and life is the environment God provides for us. We know how much the setting we are in, our environment, sets the stage for our lives. Here’s what happened to Bob. The boy that was delayed and socially inept grew and thrived in the love of his new home. I met Bob and heard his story years ago. He was the pastor of a large church in south Florida for many years, with the privilege of sharing how the love of God changed his life. His adoption enabled him to understand and enjoy all that he had been given in Christ. As this week comes to a close, do you know your identity? Do you know you have a loving heavenly Father, and you are filled with his Spirit? This is who you are and the place you have been given in Christ.

Let’s pray: Lord God, our Abba Father, how can we not worship you? You have brought us from darkness to light, from death to life. You have given us your love and made us secure. Help us to appropriate by your Spirit all your good gifts that we might live for your glory in all things. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.