84 Health and Fitness

When it comes to the question of church health. When a group of believers is in a setting where persecution is absent or minimal it becomes easy for people to lose sight of the reality of health. It is easy to think you are in excellent physical health if you never sign up for a marathon. It is through testing, exercise, and healthy intake that we become physically healthy and fit. When we are physically fit we are capable of much more than when we are lazy. The same goes for spiritual health. We can become complacent with our spiritual well being when we fail to push ourselves to grow our faith by taking steps that would not seem possible on our own. On a cellular level the physical body is in a constant state of growth and decay. It is the same spiritually, if we fail to constantly be feeding, training, growing ourselves then we actually are in a state of decay. The judge of whether or not we are exercising ourselves spiritually can only be one's own self and God, but if a body is living honestly and humbly in community with each other there are indicators of that show when our neighbor is doing so. We often know the strengths and weaknesses of those around us. When action to serve God outside our comfort zone or natural abilities happens it is an exercise of faith. Just like a toddler learning to walk sometimes we may fail or appear to fail, but it is a step towards spiritual maturity and a partnership with God.