Being Church, today

It's hard to Be Church when you're tired. It's hard when you're stressed, or when you've woken up dizzy and exhausted for days in a row.

It's a lot easier to Be Church when you're on an energy high, when life is peachy and when you've gotten enough sleep.

The Bible says our bodies are the temple of God and as such we need to look after them. Not just because it's a good idea, but also because it's easier to connect to God when your mind is clear and your body is functioning well. It's harder to do so through the fog of tiredness, from the depths of a mind clouded by junkfood and soft drinks, through the trial of being unfit or just that bit overweight.

It would be great to go back to the Garden of Eden and live as the perfect beings God created us to be. The perfect diet, the perfect climate, only one major temptation to deal with, everything in harmony. But we ain't there no more! It's up to us to make the most of where we are.

I've started this year on a bad note - my temple-body has not been spring-cleaned or properly maintained. I haven't had enough fresh air, exercise, good wholesome food or rest. I haven't spent enough time in God's presence. I've only been back at work for 2 weeks and already I need a holiday. (Perhaps it has something to do with the building, drilling, banging etc. going on outside my office all this week).

I can feel my body crying out for health. I know what's required. It's just very easy to fall into an endless downward spiral of bad choices. The worse you feel, the less effort you make, which makes you feel worse, and pretty soon you CAN'T make the effort....

And today, as a result, it's really hard to Be Church.