by Jeri Johnson
a The Kids & Me contributor
One of the most relaxed services that I have experienced at Central Church
was a Wednesday night prayer meeting. Pastor Livingston came
down from the pulpit, mingled with the crowd, and answered any questions
that we had.
Someone asked him about the nature of our resurrection bodies. The
Pastor replied that we would basically look as we do now. I leaned over and
said to the person sitting beside me, “I was hoping that I would not be
overweight.” As soon as those words left my mouth, I felt a spirit of
conviction.
There I would be anticipating the sight of the risen Christ, the highlight of
the Christian experience, and the only thing that I would be concerned
about would be what I looked like. Should I not be more concerned with my
spiritual self? Was I a guide to the blind and a light to those in darkness?
Did I feed the poor and clothe the naked? Did I pray without ceasing? Or
was I more concerned about “hitting the gym” and counting calories?
There is nothing wrong with having a healthy body. After all, we are the
temple of the Holy Spirit. But, as Paul reminds us, "bodily exercise profits a
little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having a promise of the life
that now is and of that which is to come" (1 Timothy 4:8). The Bible has little
to say about what Christ looked like. But the verses written about His character
are many. If we Christians are “Christ-like”, should not our priorities be the
same? As we grow to Christian maturity, let us conduct ourselves in such
a way that the world does not see us but Christ Who is in us. Then it will not
matter what we look like.
“Beloved, now are we children of God; and it has not yet been
revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we
shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” ~1 John 3:2