In the famous Cleansing of the Temple (Matthew 21:12-17), Jesus overturned the money changers’ tables and told them to stop making his Father’s house a den of thieves. You’re a temple too! Did you know that? 1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit?”
When I was first teaching my son about modesty. He saw a billboard of a half-clothed woman and said “That’s gross, right, Dad?” “That’s not gross,” I said. “That’s too sacred to be thrown on a billboard.”
Sacred. Who we are as God’s children is too beautiful and sacred to be taken lightly. God doesn’t hate our sin because it’s “gross”, but because it isn’t worthy of us. We were made for more than a life full of sin. And that realization can change how we deal with the sin in our lives. It has the ability to bring us from self-loathing to grace and understanding. From negative guilt that tears us down to positive repentance that builds us up. When you consider your failings, consider them in light of the sacredness God sees in you.
Just as Jesus cleansed the temple in his day, he is cleansing you too because he loves you.
