Reflection Essay

There are two aspects of personal, self-care - physical and spiritual. The Bible makes it clear that
every person should consider their lives and take care of it; to live with eternity in mind and to have a
heart geared towards righteousness. Beyond encouragement from Scriptures though, there are
motivations from discipleship books, specifically; Nouwens Reaching Out and Ortbergs The Life Youve
Always Wanted.
Romans 12:1-2 has Paul urging fellow Christians to live as Christ would have them lived. To be
transformed and changed, from the inside out, and to have a mind renewal. This isnt a physical
transformation, but a spiritual one. Jesus tells us how that spiritual change takes place. Beyond salvation
David talks about hiding the Word of God in his heart (Psalm 119:11); this implies Scripture memory and
personal action on that Word and not just superficial lip service to it.
Physically, our bodies, as Christians, are Gods temple where the Spirit presides (1 Cor. 3:17).
Paul is urging, here, that we are to live lives that dont destroy our bodies. Living healthy isnt just a good
thing to do to have a prolonged life, but something that Christ would have us do because we are
testimonial temples of God.
Nouwen talks about the solitude we must enter into in order to overcome selfish loneliness. This
solitude he talks about is also a time for mental and spiritual renewal and sanctification as one draws
closer to God. Similarly, Ortberg encourages Christ followers to live out that closeness with God by being
bold for God. That boldness comes in preaching the gospel to all people.
For me, the author of this essay, practically, I have developed a plan. In this plan, I will spend time
occupying my mind with the Word of God and prayer. Each day of the week will have a different category
of what needs prayer (Tuesday, Nation; Wednesday, Relationships; Thursday, Personal; Etc.) and each
week will have different, specific readings (Week 1, Fall; Week 2, Passion Story; Weeks 3, Romans; Etc.).
Beyond Text readings and time in prayer, I will take time before bed or earlier in the day to read a book
explaining Gods truth for a few weeks until I get through it and move onto another one (The Economy of
God, Witness Lee; Experiencing the Presence of God, A.W. Tozer; Etc.).

Understanding that God wants us to live for him spiritually and physically motivates me into acting
out my plan. I know God blesses those who earnestly seek him and beyond seeking him with my spirit, I
want to live for him involving all of me and that means eating right, exercising, using my mental faculties,
and urging others to do so as well.

Entwistle, D. N. (2010). Integrative approaches to psychology and Christianity (2nd

ed.). Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers.

McMinn, M. R. (2011). Psychology, theology, and spirituality in Christian

counseling (Rev. ed.). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Nouwen, H. J. M. (1975). Reaching out: The three movements of the spiritual life.
New York, NY: Image Books.
Ortberg, J. (2002). The life youve always wanted: The spiritual disciplines for
ordinary people (Rev. ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.