Read 1 Corinthians 3:16 1 John 4:9-16
“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)
“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only son into the world, so that we might live through him.” (1John 4:9)
A few months ago, my womb holding unexpected death, I knew God was inside of me as I pushed my child out too soon. God was tenderly carrying this baby out of me. His Spirit was there in my womb; this was certain despite the great grief and pain of unwanted labor. How is my body a temple of the Spirit, something that honors God, when a baby died inside of me as well? I am so stricken by how much our God associates with death and blood.
My 4-year-old asked me a few weeks later, “Mommy, how does Jesus get out of your tummy and into my heart?” I wonder if she had heard me talking about Him being in my womb when the baby died. After she mused about Him cutting little tiny holes in us to get in and out and then closing them back up, I answered, “Well He doesn’t come out of me—it is like Jesus puts His breath into all of us—breathes into us so His Spirit is inside.”
Sometimes the Spirit inside feels so non-intervening despite His power! And I ask “why?” and “how long?” and “why are you failing to do even simple things here with me?” Yet He is here…the man of sorrows living inside of us, the love of God manifest. Sometimes it is hard to trust a God who doesn’t seem to pull through, and yet He hasn’t failed. His tender presence is everything.
The Spirit that is inside our bodies/temples is the Spirit of a man who chose the Cross, died though He could have saved Himself, cried out that the Father had forsaken Him—that is His Spirit that our bodies hold and carry, even as He carries us.
For reflection:
- Tragedies can often drive us towards God or can sometimes bring bitterness into our hearts against God. When and how have you learned to lean more into the presence of God with you in times of sorrow?
by Emily Kee
Recommended Posts
Following Our King
April 19, 2025
Practice: Jubilee
April 18, 2025
A Gift of Grace
April 17, 2025