How does the body carry us through life?

Let’s face it. Our bodies don’t hear us. We can’t even see much of our own body unless we look in a mirror. In many ways, the body is something we live in, but rarely something we fully perceive. 

Instead, we experience our body.

We are born to this world with relatively little control over our bodies. As babies, there are two primary instincts that we have that give us capacity. When it is time to eat, and when it is time to clean up the waste we generate from eating. That’s it. Other than these factors, we have little modality. As we grow and develop, our bodies acquire strength and mobility and our brains develop cognitive skills. 

The body is both familiar and mysterious. It is the instrument through which we move, work, speak, love, and worship, yet much of what it does happens without our conscious control. Our heart beats, our lungs breathe, our cells repair themselves. Life is constantly happening inside us.

While we can make choices with our bodies, we don’t actually have full autonomy over our bodies. 

Our bodies tell us when to move and when to stop.
Our bodies give us boundaries we cannot ignore.
Our bodies signal hunger, pain and need for rest.
Our bodies reveal what is happening inside our hearts and minds.
Our bodies carry the marks of our choices over time.

Genesis 2:7

“Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

The body is formed from the earth, yet animated by the breath of God. It is both material and sacred—dust and divine breath together.

The body is also the place where our inner life becomes visible. What we believe: 

Our love.
Our fear.
Our Desires.

Eventually shows up in what we do with our bodies. Such as: 

Our words.
Our posture.
Our actions.

This is why Jesus connects the inner and outer life so closely. 

Matthew 12:34, Jesus says:

“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

The body becomes the expression of the heart.

At the same time, the body reminds us of our limits. It grows tired, ages, and eventually returns to the dust from which it came. Our bodies require work to sustain them. We must participate with our bodies. We must give our bodies what they need. Paul calls these groans of pain.  

Yet the Bible does not treat this as the final word. Instead, it promises that the body itself will be redeemed. 

Romans 8:23

Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.

So how does the body carry us through life?

The body is the meeting place of heaven and earth—formed from dust, filled with breath, expressing the soul, and destined for redemption. It is the vessel through which we live our lives before God and one another.

Our bodies are dust made sacred, carrying our lives, our hearts, and the hope of redemption through every step we take.