The theology of my body: a starting point


I've been thinking about my body a lot lately. It is not an exceptional body, mainly because I haven't done a very good job of taking care of it over the majority of my nearly twenty-two years of life. I've been pondering what it means to be created, in essence a part of the created order. In light of these thoughts, I started working out again on Monday. There's this program called P90X that is a very holistic daily workout routine that pushes your body to the edge of the abyss. Yes...that's a bit melodramatic. However, the pain stretching across my body has me constantly aware of my efforts to get my body in a healthy shape.

This morning when I looked out my window I saw the overcast skies and saw the dreary rain. While I actually love rainy days, I decided that I didn't want to succumb to the feel of the day. I put on a bright pink shirt and stark white jeans and left my house feeling full of life. Clothes do not make a person, but just like being true to yourself helps you be whole, sometimes wearing clothes that empower you helps you live out your wholeness.

I will spend a great deal of time talking on this subject here. Having an understanding of the Theology of the Body is important to me. It helps me to see my physical body as something made perfect through my creation, if I am to believe that I was indeed made in the image of God. I'm struggling through this dualism that the church has always taught me that separates my body and my soul as two entities, one inhabiting the other. I just can't believe Yaweh would do that to creation, invite the constant struggle between body and spirit. I can no longer talk about my body without talking about my soul. I am holistic, a complete creation.

I encourage you to think with me about our bodies as being as important to our spiritual formation as our spirits. Perhaps start your day with a prayer similar to the one I prayed this morning:

Today, I make the conscious decision to inhabit the fullness of my creation. I am who God created me to be, and I am a beautiful and whole creation. I have been blessed with gifts and talents, and I will not waste them. I will live out my calling in all that I do. With every fiber of the cord that was woven to create me, I desire to be strength and light and truth and hope.

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