Thursday, December 18, 2014
Does a particular song from your past suddenly and unexpectedly just pops into your head one day and it's melody lingers with you and because of it, you find yourself singing, whistling, or humming it for a good part of the day? Well, one such old song I had not even thought about for years came to my mind yesterday. In fact, it was older than what I thought because I found a you tube version of a lady singing it back in 1929. The name of it is "Button Up Your Overcoat." Besides the plea to button up the overcoat, other advice such as eating an apple daily, going to bed early, being careful when you're crossing a street, wearing flannel underwear, being diplomatic when addressing a policeman, and being careful with frozen ponds, stocks and bonds, and peroxide blondes, among other things, is given. The reason the person asks this of the one he or she loves is pretty obvious. This is the principal line in the song: "Take good care of yourself, you belong to me."
As I thought about the song's prominent line, I realized that this is something the Lord could tell His children as well. I suppose it is safe to say that the person responsible for the song's lyrics didn't have God in mind when he wrote it, but the only One who has the right to make these demands of one He loves, is the Lord. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says: "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own." David said it this way in Psalm 100:3 KJV: "It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves."How much clearer can this be? If He made us we belong to Him period, and if His Spirit lives within us, should we not be careful with what we do with it and what we take into it?
I don't believe in coincidences so if I started humming this old tune all of a sudden yesterday, I have to believe that it is because the Lord has already been dealing with one or more of you about taking better care of yourself. I perceive that some of you may be thinking that this is no big deal, and I'm also aware of all the arguments folks can present to prove their point. Hey, I can relate. Recently, in one of my scheduled checkups with my cardiologist, a man who was 93 years old signed in after me. I confess that my initial thought was, "Whats the point?" Nevertheless, and as I think about it now, at what age do we stop being God's property? The bottom line is this: Because our bodies belong to God, we should take better care of ourselves. If the Lord has already been dealing with you about this matter, I pray you won't put it off any longer and do something about it for your own good. Just imagine God singing these words to you: "Take good care of yourself, you belong to Me."
Memory verse for the week: (John 3:16) "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever will believe on Him, will not perish but have everlasting life."
