Sometimes it seems we are condemned by our bodies. Scripture is full of references to the body wanting things that God would not want for us. Our will and our body’s will tug at each other in direct opposition or attempts at distraction, bargaining and sadly, sometimes, surrender. 
In “Renovation of the Heart,” Dallas Willard suggests a way forward. Give your body over to God. Specifically, meditatively, slowly, with prayers, scripture and supplication, turn each part of your body over to God as a living sacrifice. We know our body is God’s. God made it and God wants to sustain it. God wants what is good and right for us. We do not have to be at odds with God’s will. We need only desire what God desires. That is the prayer which we know will ultimately be answered, “Thy will be done.”

Our bodies are made, Willard (and the Gospels) write, for spiritual life in the Kingdom of God. We can enter that Kingdom, be a part of that Kingdom now, this very moment, right where we are, as we are transformed into the likeness of Christ through spiritual formation. Letting go of the illusion that our bodies are our own is an important step in that process.

This is not legalism and not judgment. It is freedom in Christ. It is the freedom which walks me past many dishes on the cruise buffet and right to what God and I are having to eat this meal. Right to what God is having me see walking across the deck. Right to what God is having me do today.

Luther suggests an important reminder to keep us grounded in this truth. Each morning, as you wash your face, that face that God is caring for now, cross yourself and say, “I am baptized.”

Read Romans 12:1-2, and remember: God loves you UNCONDITIONALLY– every part of you!

Mike