Cleansing the Mobile and Living Temples- Our Bodies

UV 4278/10000 Cleansing the Mobile and Living Temples- Our Bodies Jesus said to them, “ It is written ( in Scripture), “ My House shall be called a house of prayer.”; but you are making it a robber’s den. Matthew 21 v 13 The temple cleansing is a metaphor for the cleansing of our own bodies and lives. The cleansing of the temple is, perhaps, the only instance in history of a person using authority and force to end physical abuse of the sacred space of a place of worship. It would mean coming against powerful vested interests as in this case, the money lenders, the traders, the priests who allowed it for their own benefit. These people were robbing the poor and reverential worshippers of their money and stripping the temple of its holiness. Jesus had been questioned by the priests and teachers prior to this about who gave Him authority to exercise such power. He was also questioned about it after he cleansed the temple. The disciples attributed it to the zeal for the Father’s house- the temple. The latter day application of this unusual act of Jesus is that we need to honour God in every way in the place of worship. The ultimate place of worship that God inhabits according to scripture is what is not made with human hands- the human body. We are to submit ourselves to the temple-cleansing authority of Jesus and the Holy Spirit to make our bodies, our very lives a suitable habitation, a place of worship and reverence for the Lord. We are to be holy in all manner of conversation, implying in all and every word we utter. We ought not to allow the enemy to make our bodies or our lives his veritable den wherein he robs us of our peace, joy and strength. We are to use the authority that Jesus gave us to drive out the negative thoughts, words, actions, habits from our lives that rob us of our purity and power. The word, ‘zeal’ means great interest, energy and enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective. We need to reflect such interest, energy and enthusiasm in our prayer life. Since we are mobile temples, we need to cleanse ourselves daily of any evil that has willfully or unwittingly entered our lives. We are to be a veritable house of prayer, praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord. The indwelling Holy Spirit sanctifies us and enables us to worship the Lord continually, in all that we think, speak and do. If there is anything that threatens to violate the principles of holiness of the Lord in our lives, we need to use God-given authority to have ourselves cleansed, purified, sanctified. Zeal for God should reflect in cultivating the right set of habits, relationships, setting the right goals and using consistently the right methods to achieve those goals.