What God Has to Say about Our Bodies by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: REL067020/REL067070/REL012110
Publisher: Crossway
Published: 2021-06-29T00:00:00+00:00

7

A Body You Have Prepared for Me

The Broken Body of Jesus

I can still remember the first DVD I ever owned: 1999’s The Matrix. Not only was it wonderful to see all the groundbreaking effects and stunts in amazing new clarity; I also got to enjoy the whole new concept of bonus features. These became a huge selling point.

Bonus features are great for nerdy types like me. In those included on The Matrix DVD, the directors talked through various creative choices. So that’s why it looked so cool. The set-piece effects wizardry was all explained. So that’s how they did that. Basically all the behind-the-scenes beans were spilled.

Some people hate all this, of course. They’d rather just see the movie and leave the magic unexplained. But it gives me more appreciation for the movie rather than less. Even a bad movie is somewhat improved by hearing those behind it talk through what they were at least trying to accomplish.

The Bible gives us unique insight into the brokenness of creation, including our bodies. Paul has shown us that the world has been subjected to futility by God himself such that it does not work properly. What bewilders us in nature is explained to us in Scripture. So we, of all people, should understand and appreciate the extent to which this world is fallen. God has given us a unique backstage pass into why this has happened and what it means. We should be able to make sense of it in a way that no one else can. It’s like we’ve been given exclusive access to all the best DVD extra features: explaining what is really going on, showing us behind the scenes, and above all giving us the words of the Creator himself to help us understand why things are the way they are.

This insight should, at the very least, make us unusually compassionate. When we see people going through the throes of bodily brokenness—perhaps some chronic illness, or the recurrent pain of body shame, or having to pick their way through the wreckage of some sexual sin—we have no reason to stand aloof, as if these things are beneath us or somehow make those people less worthy than us. When someone is going through something we’ve never had to face personally, it is all too easy to adopt a mindset of “pull yourself together” even if we would never actually say those words. Yes, where sin has taken place, there is personal responsibility and culpability, but this does not justify a cold attitude or a lack of sympathy as the sinner wrestles with the aftermath.

It was a few years ago that I first met someone who experiences gender dysphoria. A mutual friend introduced us, and this individual—I’ll call him Max—was kind enough to spend an afternoon talking me through his story. I’ve struggled with all sorts of sins and temptations, but I’ve never experienced gender dysphoria. I’ve never not felt male or desired to be female. There are plenty of other ways my desires and wants have been twisted by sin, but this has not been one of them.

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