Most Christians don’t spend a lot of time in temples. Most of us worship Christ in buildings called churches, though some of us worship in cathedrals, living rooms, old movie theatres, or even taverns. Christians believe we can worship Christ anywhere. Wherever two or more Christians are gathered, Christ is also there; we don’t need anything fancy.

In Jesus’ time that was not the case. The temple was the place where God resided. Very few people could enter into the holy places. But when Jesus came and died, everything changed. The Holy Spirit came upon those who believed in Christ. This meant the temple’s purpose changed. No longer did we have to go to the temple to meet God; instead, God was with us. Among us.

In fact, 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” We are not our own, for we were bought with a price. So, we should glorify God in our bodies. We don’t need to go to a specific building to meet God; the Holy Spirit is within us. That means our bodies belong to Christ. We need to respect our bodies, treating them as we would a temple in which God dwells. We need to recognize that what our bodies can do is a gift from God that we can use to honor Him. Our bodies are moving temples that spread the good news of God wherever we go. What a privilege! 

This is Andrew Palau.