Kimberley Ellison
I love massages.
Even a simple back rub has a seemingly magical ability to send tingles all through your body, as though your muscles are actually unclenching their fists and breathing a sigh of relief.
As nice as massages are, though, everybody knows that they are not enough to maintain good health. To be healthy, a person needs to eat good food, drink plenty of water, get lots of sleep, and, of course, exercise. Only a fool would think that by getting a daily massage they could remain fit and healthy.
I believe the same applies to our spirituality. It needs wholesome spiritual food and water, it needs healing rest, and it needs to be exercised regularly. And yet, sometimes it seems as though all we give it is massage after massage after massage.
How often do you walk away from a sermon about how much God loves us and wants us to be with Him, feeling all warm and fuzzy as though someone has been giving you a back rub the whole way through? Unless you’re one of those lucky people who actually does get a back rub from the person next to you during church, it’s very likely that you’re feeling the effects of a spiritual massage.
Source of eternal wisdom, Wikipedia, defines massage as “the manipulation of superficial layers of muscle and connective tissue to enhance the function and promote relaxation and well-being.”
Massage is good, but it’s not enough.
To really do our spiritual muscles good we need to exercise them. We need to get our hands dirty and do what God calls us to do. It’s great to keep those muscles supple and in top form, but what good is it unless we’re planning on using them?
Choosing Christianity is not choosing to get a spiritual massage once a week. It’s choosing to represent Christ, and choosing to have Christ represent us. What would Jesus do? It’s a valid question. Jesus stormed through temples throwing tables around. He confronted religious and political leaders when they were doing the wrong thing. He fought for the needy and spoke for the afflicted. He used his energy healing people and fulfilling their earthly needs as well as their spiritual ones.
There are plenty of spiritual massages available all the time at college. That’s great. Enjoy them! But don’t forget to exercise.
