Before I experienced the new birth, after praying for God to forgive my sins, my body was aging before its time. Allow me to explain.
Putting the wrong things into
one’s body can cause negative reactions, just as sin can bring negative
consequences to one’s soul. Both can
take a toll on a person’s mind, body, and spirit. I believe our lifestyle can have a direct
influence on our health.
A person who is allergic to
tobacco smoke, yet continues to smoke, runs the risk of bringing negative
consequences upon the body. Someone who
chooses to put their liver at risk through alcohol use is, in my opinion, choosing
unwisely. I am certainly not judging
those who indulge. I am a man who was
headed down that same road when God spoke to my heart and asked, “Is it
worth it?”
My dad was a slave to tobacco
and alcohol before God delivered him from those habits that had him bound, as
though he were in chains and couldn’t break free. Sadly, I was heading down the same road he
had traveled.
I can say that it was a wide
road to the destruction of my body.
I usually use the illustration
of the two roads to bring attention to the two roads regarding our souls. One road, the narrow road, leads to
everlasting life with God, while the wide road leads to destruction and eternal
separation from Him. But I don’t think
I’ve ever written about the wide road leading to the destruction of the body
through substance abuse.
I’ve heard the expression,
“You are what you eat.” But what about
the things we take into our bodies that can harm us? Couldn’t that also be a wide road to
unnecessary suffering? I believe it can.
I thank God often that He
showed me a better way—the right way—to travel.
No longer do I have a chronic
cough or have to worry about my liver.
I’m like a stranger in my own body.
My soul has put off the old
man—the old way of living—and I now live in a healthier body with a new outlook
on life. I’m living life with gusto
rather than depending on habits to get me through the challenges of each
day. My intake of those “get-me-byes”
was unnecessary in the first place.
I am a new creation.
“Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation; old things are passed away; behold, all things have
become new.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17
The new birth is about
bringing life to our minds, bodies, and spirits rather than allowing the
darkness of destructive habits to destroy our bodies, relationships, and so
much more.
Like my dad, God broke the
bonds that had held me captive for so long.
I’ve been getting used to my
new body ever since Jesus saved me. No
longer do I find it necessary to influence it with toxic things in an attempt
to find some kind of lasting satisfaction.
Take it from someone who knows both sides of the story: the Lord
satisfies me just fine. I wouldn’t have
it any other way.
I couldn’t ask for anything
greater than being a child of Almighty God.
I want more of Him each day.
Scripture tells us, “Draw
nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.” — James 4:8
The more of Him I receive, the
less I am influenced by Satan’s temptations to ever return to the life that
gave me nothing but grief. The door to
that horrific life is closed and locked.
Before I became a Christian, I
asked my dad how he stopped smoking and drinking. He exclaimed, “I put them down and never
picked ‘em up again!”
The Holy spirit gave him the
ability and power to overcome and resist temptation. He had a made-up mind—a new mind and heart in
Christ.
I’ve experienced that same
power, and I thank God for it.
“I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me.” — Philippians 4:13
I’m loving being like a
stranger in my own body now that God has set me free from the bondage of
temptation.
Written by,
Papa Boyd
