Dear BPCWAians, It has been a busy 2 weeks in church for many. We had  a blessed weekend of remembering our Lord’s Resurrection. However, following that Easter Sunday, we also had the news of a worshipper’s homegoing to be with our Lord on Friday. As I looked at the body of Siew Beng on the hospital bed after her demise, it made me reflect not just about her future resurrection, but also about how one day our bodies will also lie lifeless on earth when God calls our spirit home to Him.

A time to reflect. What will we have done in this body of ours while we still had life on earth? The Easter reminder that we too will have the resurrected body one day gives comfort and assurance to believers. At the same time, all these must make the believer take stock and consider our own life – past, present, and also in the future. And the time to do so is while we still have life in this body of ours. We saw from God’s Word at our Easter message that our Lord Jesus appeared physically to the disciples on multiple occasions. Since our Lord said, “It is finished” on the cross, why did He need to resurrect bodily and want them to see Him physically? It is because He wanted His people to know that the grave has no victory over them, and that they too will one day be resurrected bodily because of His finished work on the cross of Calvary. That is why the Holy Spirit moved Apostle Paul to contend in 1Cor 15:12-23 that because Christ did resurrect from the dead, believers will also be raised at His second coming. This is our comfort and assurance. Moreover, the Lord went through much effort to ensure that His disciples knew and were absolutely convinced that His was a physical body, not a spiritual apparition. This must remind us that God not only intended to save our souls, but also redeemed our body too. Hence, God asks us in 1Cor 6:19 “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” and therefore warns us in verse 1Cor 3:17, “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are”. It is time to reflect what you have been using this body of yours for. Your body has been redeemed by the precious Blood of Jesus Christ, and hence now belongs to God.

A time to make changes. Reflecting is only useful for the purpose of making the needed changes to your life. It is not just to have a poignant moment and philosophise, or worse, to complain. Everyone of us need to ask ourselves before it is too late – what have we done in our bodies most of our lives, and what changes do we need to make before we can no longer do so? Have you been defiling the temple of God with unclean thoughts, and using your body to sin by living disobedient lives in your choices of family life, jobs, friendships? Have you been using the tongue for false accusations, spreading gossip and falsehood and speaking vanities? Have you been using your body with the God given energies and talents to serve self and the world? Where are you physically when you ought to be in church learning about God and serving Him? “What? . . . know ye not . . . ye are not your own?” What a rebuke! Have we come to this consciousness that we cannot choose to do as we wish in this redeemed body? It is not too late. You are not bedridden yet. Repent in your mind and body, and make the changes needed. Such changes may not be easy and may not be pleasant. And some changes will take serious resolutions and drastic re-ordering of your personal life, your job, friendships, and family life. In most cases, it will certainly require you to change how you spend your time, your energy, and perhaps even your money. Moreover, where the Lord has convicted you about your speech and your attitudes, it is time to change.

A time to live for the Lord. If you and I would not change, just remember – what would we be remembered for when our time comes to be called home? What kind of person would we be remembered as? But more importantly, how will we meet our Lord Jesus who redeemed our soul and body with His own Blood? Let us not forget that God intended for our bodies to be kept pure while we are on earth. The Apostle Paul prays for believers, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the comng of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 5:23). Sometimes as we grow older, we wonder what service can we do for the Lord. But when we look at this verse, we should be more concerned about being blameless. Living for Christ certainly includes service, but is more than that. Do we spend time studying God’s Word, learning about how we can please Him, how we can be holy before Him, and what we must repent of in our personal lives? Are we obeying Him in every area of our lives in our body? Let us prepare now by studying God’s Word so we can rid ourselves of any and every known sin in our life.

At every burial, as the body is lowered into the grave, it makes me reflect about the curse of sin upon man “for out of it (dust) wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Gen 3:19). But for Christians, we have the sure hope of the resurrection of our bodies. It makes me think – the resurrection must not just remind us of our assurance but also the redemption of the body on earth to be used for Him, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor 6:20). Whether young or old, healthy or unwell, what will you use the body, the temple of God for in the remaining days of your life?

Yours in our Lord’s service

Pastor