Psalm 139:13-14 (CEV)- “You are the one who put me together inside
my mother’s body, and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me.
Everything you do is marvelous! Of this I have no doubt.”
I work as a biological scientist and one of my favorite courses to
teach is Human Anatomy and Physiology. This involves instruction about the
development, composition, arrangement, functionality and pathology of the human
body. Although it is a public
institution steeped in secular tradition, from the very first moment I introduce
myself to my students, throughout the course and up to the final exam, I
constantly remind them that as an experienced scientist I fully vow that we are
not made from some chance lightening strike hitting a primordial soup of
proteins and algae; nor did we result from the emergence or evolution of
primitive primates. We are wonderfully
and fearfully made in the awesome image of our God. While God is spirit and does not have a
physical form his essence is expressed in the wonder of the head, truck and
limbs that make up the human frame.
Everything that God does is wonderful and his creation of us,
collectively as a species and individually as characters with our own
personalities, is without a doubt marvelous. We must not only take care of our
bodies, protect their frailties, cherish their workings but we must honor their
differences. We are all made from the
DNA models passed down from generation to generation and these blueprints give
directions for how we shall be ‘knit’ or pieced together in our mother’s
wombs. The grandeur of it all is that
God orchestrated everything about us before we were even a spark in our
father’s eyes or a smile on our mother’s faces.
Before he threw the stars into the sky or whirled the nebulae to form
the galaxies he envisioned the dimple on your cheek and the little crock of
your tooth.
God loves us so much; let’s love ourselves and honor our bodies. We
must be diligent to not destroy them with cigarettes, excessive alcohol,
abusive sexual behavior, inadequate sleep, overwork or overindulgent
eating. We are anatomic perfection; give
God praise by taking care of the gift he has given to us in the form of our
bodies. Whether white, black, brown,
tall, short, thin, thick, scarred, disfigured, amputated or arthritic – give
God praise for we are wonderfully and fearfully (awesomely) made.
Every day is a good day;
it is up to us to make it a GREAT day. Have a body conscious weekend. Get some exercise; eat less; rest more; laugh
out loud and enjoy worship service with friends and/or family. See you on Monday! Be blessed! Dr. JoAnn
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