A gift to be treasured

At Christmas time, I love to sort through the presents under the tree, looking for ones addressed to me. I’ll pick each one up, shake it, squish it, feel the edges and try to identify the contents. I find books and cds fairly easy to identify unless the giver intentionally disguises the gift (as my mom is known for doing). The truth is though, I don’t actually want to know what’s inside the wrapping until Christmas morning. I would never dream of removing the tape to look inside or peeking between the layers of tissue paper to see into the gift bag. That would spoil the surprise. It would ruin the anticipation that is built by seeing the gifts but being forced to wait until Christmas morning to open them. Occasionally, the unthinkable happens – a package is torn or the gift bag falls over and the contents are revealed, perhaps just a corner of the contents. (Okay so “unthinkable” is a rather strong word, but it’s really uncool when this happens!) I try to fix it by adding extra tape but it never looks the same. I am a terrible present wrapper to begin with so my haphazard attempts to reclose the package generally don’t work.

Isn’t this true with our hearts & bodies? Our hearts and bodies are a gift to be treasured for our spouse – current or future. In fact, we are a temple of the Holy Spirit and ought to honor God with our bodies.

I Corinthians 6:18-20 – “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

What do I want to present to my husband on our wedding night – a gift that has been haphazardly re-wrapped, torn or is in disarray or a gift that has been treasured and kept pure? If I want the latter from my future spouse, shouldn’t I be striving to offer him the same? If I give my heart away a piece at a time, what am I saving for marriage? If I give myself away physically (to any degree), am I honoring God and my future mate? For that matter, am I honoring the person I am involved with and their future mate?

My heart & my body are a gift that I will present one day to my future spouse. Right now I need to make choices that will treasure that gift and keep it pure. God offers forgiveness for past choices and mistakes. And He gives the strength to live in purity of thought & deed.

2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

I’m in a class at church that is going through Mark Driscoll’s “Peasant Princess” series where he teaches through the book of Song of Songs. It’s been a fantastic series and I am learning a ton! Our facilitators have done an excellent job of drawing in both single & married folks of all ages. I’m looking forward to the next few weeks!