For most of my life, I didn't want to hear about being a temple of the Holy Spirit. That tired line repeated by speakers at high school and young adult retreats sounded cliched and boring.

I wasn't a temple; I was a young woman. I didn't want to live "a dull, boring life of contemplation"—the only thing I could imagine for a "holy, temple of God" life, and I certainly wasn't thrilled with the idea of Jesus "tossing the tables" in my heart. It's not as though my sins were that awful (cue the need for humility and a closer look at who I was versus who I am called to be).

Was Jesus even like that?! I wondered. I could not wrap my mind around the image of an angry Jesus, making a whip and driving people out of the temple. Zeal indeed! Table-tossing Jesus wasn't my Jesus; that Jesus was crazy.

But this table-tossing Jesus is the same Jesus I love, the One Who loved me before I even existed and loves you too. His zeal isn't from an angry rampage, it's from a love desiring a rightly-ordered respect for His Father's house, the temple.

And what does the ancient temple have to do with me?

By virtue of my Baptism, the Spirit of God dwells in me. I am a temple of God, as Saint Paul told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 3:16. And this is why Jesus' zeal isn't crazy. His zeal is for my heart. It is the burning love of His Sacred Heart, a love so strong and pure that He wants not to create chaos, but to bring order to my life by ridding it of what tears me away from Him.

He wants holiness and a life of joy for me.

Sister, this is your reality, too.

You are beautifully fashioned and loved by God. He desires your heart. Pray today for a greater awareness of the Holy Spirit in your life and offer your day for His glory. Let Him draw you close and make you holy.

[bctt tweet="Let Him draw you close and make you holy. // Gina Fensterer" username="blessedisshe__"]

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