Father,
You have created us
as embodied souls, as bodies with spirits. And when we started out in that
Garden everything was fine, beautiful, perfect. And that was so good. But then,
sin entered the picture and ruined it all. Sin has affected our bodies, and it has
affected our souls. And life hasn't been the same since. The soul of every
person since – except for one – has been poisoned with hatred of You and Your
ways. And the body of every person since, without exception, has been
corrupted.
But Jesus, our
Savior, has come. He has come, and He has dealt with our sin problem. Instead
of hatred, there is now love in our souls, love for You and Your ways. You have
made such dramatic changes in our souls already, and You continue to make
changes. We can see that.
But the poison of
sin affecting our bodies remains as it was. That has not changed. So now, we
have bodies that are damaged, deeply damaged. And while those of us who are
younger may not feel that so much, those of us who are older do.
Father, some of us
are going around in bodies that are obviously far from perfect. We are walking
through life with bodies that are failing. Bit by bit, they are fading. And one
day these bodies will no longer function at all. One day our bodies will die.
There are times when some of us think about these things, and it gives us
pause.
Father, as our
bodies do deteriorate, help us not to fear. Life will change as our bodies
change. Life will get more difficult. And that can be frightening. But it need
not be. Whether young or old, full of health or lacking it, this much is still
true. You are our God. Your love never ceases. Your mercies never come to an
end. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness.
The people of the
world do not know You. And so, they do not want to be reminded of failing
bodies, of dying bodies. They are so afraid. Don't let us be like them, Father.
Don't let us be like them. No, instead, teach us to face reality trusting You
so that we will be able to live well and bring praise to Your name.
It just might be
that You will call us to serve You with deeply broken bodies. Help us to do
that fearlessly and joyfully. After all, we belong to You for You to make use
of in any way You think best. Remind us that it’s when we submit to You in this
way that life is worth living.
There is one more
thing that we want to ask of You, Father. Would You please use our experiences
of failing bodies to create in us a growing longing for the glorious
resurrection of our bodies in the age to come? As we are less and less able to
do what we once did effortlessly, stir our imaginations to picture what it will
be like to have beautiful bodies that will work perfectly and that forever.
Stir up our hope, Father, so that we will live wisely, even with faulty bodies,
to the glory of Your name. Through Christ our
Lord, Amen.
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