"So what?" to the Image of God in Physical Health

The way we live reveals our beliefs and values in our hearts. I want my thoughts about the different areas of life to reflect what God thinks about those areas, including our physical bodies and health. In my last post I shared one big idea that shapes the way we can think about and treat our physical health: the image of God in man. In this post I want to share one implication for this idea. In other words, what difference does this make for our lives? Here it is:

Implication: I think we should care for our bodies (pretty profound, huh?). I think caring for our bodies can help us fulfill the call of God on our lives. What does it say if a father cannot continue playing with his children after 30 seconds because he's winded? I think developing our physical gifts can allow us to live the way God intends. It also enriches who we are. Physical exercise can really help us fulfill the mission God has given us.

We must avoid the mistake that our bodies are not important to God or that our bodies are evil or bad. Though our bodies have been affected by sin, they have been created by God and should be valued and cared for.

Now, I'm no physical trainer but I'd like to throw out some ways in which I might live differently in light of this truth. This is one area where application for me has been weak!