Articles
Our Amazing Bodies
I have “joined the club,” the surgery club, that is. Many of you have gone “under the knife” (I love English’s figures of speech), and I have been sedated for minor procedures, but this was my first invasive operation. I am now missing a gallbladder, but based on its increasing dysfunction I happily say, “Good riddance.” I’m hopeful for better days of normal digestion ahead.
However, my experience makes me marvel at this biological machine called the human body. Broadly speaking, the body is a fleshly vehicle through which a spiritual being is able to interact with a material world. More specifically, the body is a highly complex amalgamation of interrelated systems that allow for animation that we call “life.” A living human body processes millions of coordinated electrical and biochemical operations per second, supporting such functions as sight, hearing, movement, reproduction, disease prevention, breathing, nutrition, waste disposal, thinking, speaking, learning, etc.
Many years ago, when the most esteemed scientists were ignorant of these complexities, it was easier to adopt Darwin’s vague notions that life somehow spontaneously sprang out of a mud puddle and continued to “evolve,” eventually culminating in man. But there is no excuse for believing such simplistic nonsense now, for the evidence of design and system interrelation keeps amassing with each new discovery. Truly, we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps 139:14).
So what does this have to do with gallbladder surgery? As amazing as the gallbladder is, the body can adapt to is absence. Not everything works this way, of course, but there are endless ways in which the body adjusts to injury, cessation of function or removal of various organs. As delicate and intertwined as its systems are, the body is incredibly durable and adaptable. God made it to survive, and this is all the more obvious when we consider former eras of human existence – before gallbladder surgeries, coronary stents and antibiotics. When surgery wasn’t possible, when doctors were ignorant of microbial disease and when babies died needlessly, it’s a wonder that humanity survived and exponentially increased in number. But such is a testament to the durability of life and the built-in reproductive drive.
God’s purpose for man from the beginning was to “be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gn 1:28). This is said right after the truth which so often escapes the morally confused among us today: “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (1:27). This does not say that God has male and female physiology; it says that “man” – humankind – is created with divine resemblance and compatibility and as such is capable of fellowship with Him. In the dichotomy of the sexes, man is able to replicate God’s work in bringing life into the world. The physical bodies of men and women are obviously fundamental to that purpose.
When we conjure up unnatural, unscientific theories – like gender being “fluid” – we attack the very heart of our God-given identity and purpose. In every cell of our bodies God has ensconced the blueprint of what makes us what we are sexually, i.e., chromosomes. That is, what makes a man “male” is not a reproductive organ per se but a complete cellular circuitry that affects muscle mass, bone density, body fat and its distribution, hormones, metabolism, etc. – all of which differs from “females.” The creation of life, in the way God intended it to occur, is physically wondrous, emotionally overwhelming and humbling, and this is all destroyed by the idea that babies are commodities to be purchased and/or raising children is not worth the trouble.
But that’s not all. Physical intimacy, in conjunction with marital commitment, emotional investment, deep affection and selfless respect, is a God-given element of joy and pleasure: “Because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does” (1 Cor 7:2-4). This sounds counterintuitive, for we naturally think that have sovereign control over our bodies and no one should trump that prerogative. But that’s a humanistic thought, not a Biblical one. Regarding sexuality, the husband’s body “belongs” to his wife, and vice versa. This is an element of emotional and physical satisfaction baked into our makeup by God. It is not perverted or impure; rather, it is a joy to be explored and indulged in by men and women who are married and committed to each other for life.
Another thing to consider – among many others – is a function of the body that is uniquely human: complex speech. True, monkeys screech, pigs grunt, cats purr, dogs bark and birds sing, but let’s keep this in context. Gorillas don’t recite sonnets; whales don’t sing opera; zebras don’t give political speeches; bears don’t say the Pledge of Allegiance; and leopards don’t pray. The human body is constructed in such a way that rational thought can be articulated by the coordinated actions of the diaphragm, lungs, vocal cords, tongue and jaw movements. We can express our thoughts, ideals, values and will in a way that those in the animal kingdom cannot (remember: humans only are in God’s image). And this brings a heavy responsibility to use this function for good and to bring glory to God (1 Tim 2:1-2; Col 3:16; Mt 12:36-37; Prov 12:22; 1 Pet 3:10; etc.). Our words can build and heal, and they can injure and destroy.
Finally, our bodies also have an expiration date. The dynamics of this world are such that the body deteriorates; time and mileage inexorably take their toll. The body becomes enfeebled; movement is limited and unstable; vision and hearing fade; taste dulls; skin sags; hair grays (Ecc 12:1-8). This incredible machine eventually becomes a shadow of its former vigor, and we would do well to learn to accept this truth and set our hopes on the Lord who “will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Ph 3:21).
