A Walk – March 21, 2019

The Lord Jesus Christ . . . will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Philippians 3:20-21

A Walk

Here’s an assignment for you: The next time you visit a hospital, make it a point to take a thoughtful, deliberate walk through that hospital. Look around. Take in what you see.

Behind every door there’s a story, an unfolding drama. There are some who are recovering from accidents and will soon be getting on with their lives. There are others with life-changing injuries. There are patients who are getting treatment for a stubborn bug and will soon be going home. There are others who are undergoing a barrage of tests in hopes of discovering what the problem is. There are families who arrive with balloons and funny cards because a loved one gets to come home. There are families sitting quietly in waiting rooms because they know a loved one is never coming home again.

Such a walk will remind you of one thing. No matter how healthy you are, you are only one bacterium away, one moment’s inattention away, one positive test result away from finding yourself lying in a bed that’s not your own, watching a wall-mounted television, with strange machines beeping at your side. It will remind you that, in this world of sin, each of us possesses a lowly body that’s far more vulnerable and frail than we care to admit.

But such a walk can also remind you of something else. The lowly bodies we have now are not going to be lowly forever. We know this because Jesus has made a promise. He has promised to transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

And so, there it is. The same Son of God who took on a human body to live in our place, sacrificed his body on a cross to pay for our sins in full, and raised his body back to life—this same Jesus has promised that the lowly bodies we have now will not be lowly for long. Disease, accident, age, death—these things do not have the final word on our bodies. Jesus does. And his Word says that when he raises his followers from the dead one day, our bodies will be glorious—no more pain or disease or injury or death. What a transformation!

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, for the time being my body is frail and lowly. But not for long. For this I thank you. Amen.