Daily Devotional for January 19, 2020
The China Cabinet
Cameron and his parents had just returned from church. Dad was walking him through the steps of cooking burgers when Mom stepped out onto the patio.
“Cameron, why don’t you help me clean the china cabinet after lunch?” she said.
Cameron frowned and shifted to peer inside the house at the looming cabinet. “Didn’t we just clean it?” he asked. It might have collected a little dust on the top, but it wasn’t like anyone could see it.
“Well, it needs cleaning again,” Mom said. “It won’t take long. Come on, it’ll be fun!”
Cameron shrugged. “Okay.” Dad flipped the grill cover down, and Cameron took a seat on the steps as Mom closed the door.
“So, what did you learn in Sunday school?” Dad asked.
“It was about our bodies being a temple for the Holy Spirit,” Cameron said. “But I didn’t really understand it. How can our bodies be a holy temple? They’re nothing like the stone buildings mentioned in the Bible.”
Dad was silent for a moment, and then his gaze stopped on something inside the house. “Did you know that your mom’s china cabinet, along with the dishes inside, were a gift from your grandparents?”
“No,” Cameron replied.
“And do you know why she cleans it so often?”
Cameron hesitated and then said, “Because it’s important to her and she wants to take care of it?”
Dad nodded. “It reminds me of us. God created us with bodies and gave us the Holy Spirit, who comes to live inside us when we put our faith in Jesus—kind of like the china cabinet and the dishes inside. After Jesus died and rose again, God made His dwelling inside people saved from sin instead of stone buildings. That means our bodies are holy temples. Because they were given to us as gifts, we should take care of them, just like your mom takes care of that china cabinet. We do that by staying away from sinful things that could harm us physically, emotionally, or spiritually and use our bodies to honor God.”
Dad flipped the grill cover up. “Looks like they’re ready. Let’s eat, and then you can help your mom clean the cabinet.” -Hope Dougherty
How about you?
Did you know your body is a holy temple? If you trust Jesus as your Savior, you have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of you! Your body is important to God, and He wants you to use it to honor Him. Take care of God’s temple by listening to Him when He guides you away from sin and toward doing what’s right.
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