Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?—1 Corinthians 6:19 (NIV)

Sometimes it’s just best to avoid the mirror, I thought. My aging had moved from a slow process to an outright sprint, the once barely discernible facial lines having turned into little valleys. While I had no inclination to argue with Paul’s description of our bodies as “temples,” the image staring back at me looked anything but. 

I thought of Westminster Abbey. Since I was reared in a church no larger than many bedrooms, my tour of that edifice had been riveting—not to mention my long-held idea of the beautiful temple to which David referred in his sweeping desire to “dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of [his] life” (Psalm 27:4, NIV). The figure in my mirror simply couldn’t compare. 

Pausing to consider my assumed definition of “temple,” I grabbed the dictionary to affirm what I was certain temple meant. But there in the final entry was this: “a place devoted to a special purpose.” As was consistently his Spirit-led way, Paul had been spot on. 

Though there is nothing quite like entering a lofty space dedicated to worship, it’s far more awe inspiring to know that I, an ordinary servant, am also a temple devoted to housing the Holy Spirit. No matter the harsh mirror, I would continue to let the Light shine—through the wrinkles, the thinning hair, the bad knees. After all, my purpose is to carry the Spirit. You can’t get any more riveting than that.