As we shift into focusing on the creation of our body, a clear relationship can be observed between our bodies and the inventions men create. The demand for new machines to do more has a direct effect on our bodies doing less. In some ways, our inventions are evolving to become more human-like slaves, even anticipating what we want. The computer with its capabilities, especially in the realm of Artificial Intelligence, will continue to progress as demands are met to create machines to complete our most menial tasks. It seems that the more our creations do for us, the more our recreational time is taken up trying to keep our bodies active and healthy. The writer of Ecclesiastes once encouraged us to find joy in our labors (Ecclesiastes 5:18-20), yet some are trying to labor less and get paid more.
Our bodies are moving miracles! Let’s look at three major functions that effect the whole body: the nervous system, heart, and blood. There are many other parts and functions, yet these three are tantamount in their full performance and their scope of involvement to our human existence.
Our first focus is the nervous system. Our body contains over 90,000 miles of nerves,1 which lead to the brain, not the heart. These nerves wind their way in through the spinal cord and outward in the most unique way, sending and receiving signals from many avenues through joints and muscles, connecting the smallest parts. Our sensory avenues are so precise, not one segment can be removed or blocked and not cause discomfort to the rest of the body because the brain will reveal that a malfunction has occurred. This electrical system has yet to be matched by any inventor. If you have an abnormality like a block in your right bundle, which is the wiring of your heart, the corresponding side of your heart may have a delay in pumping, causing a slower resting heart rate. The electrical charge does still get through and this may result in a unique heartbeat causing no health risks. Through further research, the sinus node is located on the heart and receives both intrinsic and extrinsic signals which affect the heart’s rate.2
Next, the heart, like a car transmission, causes motion by the rate, pressure, and volume of pumping blood. The heart pumps 2,000 gallons of blood a day.3 The heart works twice as hard as the leg muscles of a sprinter. It beats around 100,000 times a day. Such a lightweight organ, around 7-15 ounces, this muscle is essential to our every breath.
Finally, the blood flow is directly connected to even the most distant extremity; without this connection, function is impeded and the whole body will suffer. Our blood travels through more than 60,000 miles of vessels which means they can encircle the globe more than twice.4 The life blood flows through even the porosity of our skeletal structure providing the rigidity we need to function on land.5 Without it, we would be like octopuses, a pile of limp flesh grasping at anything that would take us to an environment where a spineless animal could function. This network of blood channels not only delivers the food and antibodies we need for our daily functions but also performs a host of other duties as it recycles through our intricate systems. To sum up, the nervous and blood delivery system clearly reveals their codependency and how they are vital to the whole body performing at its peak; one would be wise to consider its dynamics.
The body is an amazing creation that is referenced in the Bible many times as a great model of how the children of God can interrelate. The original concept of this extremely complex body was that it would be a vehicle for one’s soul for life, enjoying some “labor” in a paradise. We were created to enjoy the sounds and beauty of what was made for us while tending a beautiful garden. But man, in his God-given free will, made a choice without understanding its consequences. Yes, humans were told they would die, but they didn’t realize the seriousness of the situation during the temptation. Our bodies are temporary, and we will not die with our bodies.
The more I age, the more obvious it becomes that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. The idiom “you never miss the water till the well runs dry” feels true to me as my parts break down while realizing that I have abused my body due to my lack of understanding of how they function. Unfortunately, some bodies end in demise due to blatant disregard for their well-being and a desire for pleasure for the moment.
Here’s an example of why I wish all of my parts were working. In the last ten years, I have had several root canals followed by two attempts to remove a tooth. My dental conundrums were not to be eclipsed by a double hernia operation. This procedure and the definite pain reminded me that my nervous system was working. If not dealt with, this body malfunction may not only have caused long-term digestion issues and probable increased pain, but even death if metastasized. The post-surgery impediments to accomplish the simplest of tasks equaled the debilitation of the bad tooth pain merely at the other end of the digestive system. In addition, I was in a car accident as a result of a driver running a stop sign while on a suspended license in a borrowed vehicle which he managed to flip on its roof after hitting me and fled the scene. Just before this, it was discovered that I have had slight arthritis in the sixth vertebrae of my neck. This abnormality rose to the surface and affected the severity of the whiplash incurred. If that wasn’t enough, a table saw accident on a Thursday led to a first segment amputation of my right index finger on the following Monday causing a challenge to my typing. It is still a mystery as to why I had to wait until my finger started to feel better only to be re-immersed in more severe pain post op. These experiences effectively emphasized the connections of the parts to the whole through the immense pain endured that was caused by nerve encroachment (a restriction of the nerve canal in the sixth vertebrae). The number of pain medications I consumed between dental, hernia, back, and hand procedures confirmed for me the importance of each body part.
My health issues whetted my appetite to better understand how the body works. I periodically have looked through an anatomy textbook at one of my many doctor visits. As I leafed through the pages, I was awestruck by the intricacy of our human mechanism. The discovered muscles, ligaments, nerves, blood vessels, and all the finite details man has revealed have been wonderfully knit by our Creator God. Consequently, in order to find a cure for physical problems, one must understand the natural flow of the body so that an accurate diagnosis of the problem can result. Ferreting out the probable cause is also a great method to introduce a proper preventative maintenance regiment if the patient is willing. My advice from the neurosurgeon was not to get in any more car accidents. I appreciated this doctoral counseling but failed in its application two years later.
In the realm of health solutions, we can have more opinions and often less remedies than with our cars. The medical field of this country consists of a complex network of insurance, hospitals, urgent care clinics, primary care, specialists, and an extensive repertoire of “alternative” care medicine. Often times, basic care can be complicated for reasons beyond conception. A doctor friend once told me, “if you bring four healthcare professionals to diagnose a patient, at least five or more opinions for treatment will be brought forth.” Additionally, prognoses can cause disillusionment just as much as diagnoses. I have learned to appreciate a good and accurate treatment like any patient. More than that, I value a provider who can humbly say they are out of ideas while encouraging you to seek other opinions. As one professional wisely said, “The pain does not always emanate from where the problem is located.” Some of us patients can also complicate diagnoses by low pain tolerances which don’t allow time to be the best healer. We want simple remedies for a complex problem without pain or inconvenience as soon as possible. We forget that we are not in the Garden of Eden. We spend our lives looking for the elusive “Tree of Life” here on earth rather than helping others find the gates of heaven, so we can one day receive new bodies to enjoy paradise with God again. To find a problem, we need to understand the original design. Our bodies were very complex from the beginning.
In Genesis 2:15, we were created to be active: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” This may not be an enjoyable statement to hear depending on either your attitude towards labor or its definition. The goal of our work seems to be our desire to play and get paid for it. One of the reasons God made us in His own image was so He could fellowship with us. Just as Adam did not find a suitable mate in all creation, he needed someone with the same capabilities to reason, be creative, and look physically similar. God gave man limited freedom. We are not omniscient, omnipresent, or omnipotent, but at times if we are humble enough to admit it, we have acted as if we have these abilities. In reality, our bodies, like cars, will end up being recycled. On the other hand, our souls will either be given a renewed body to live eternally or experience eternal separation from the Lord’s love.
Reflections on The Body and Its Mechanics
Consider the following Scriptures about the human body:
I Corinthians 15:50-58 ~
50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
The mortal bodies of God’s children will be renewed into an immortal form, so they can inherit the kingdom of God.
Write out your response to this information in the space provided:
Now, let’s look at I Corinthians 12 ~
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts,e yet one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts.
And I will show you a still more excellent way.
This body is the Body of Christ aka the Church or the Bride.
Have you ever been envious of someone else’s spiritual gifts?
I would like to encourage you to get busy using the gifts you have for the glory of God. If you are not sure how to do that, please ask the Holy Spirit for guidance. You can also meet with your parents, minister, or elder at your church to talk about how you can do that. The Lord has a plan for your gifts. You can trust Him to lead you.
Author: Wilf Scheuermann, excerpt from the transcript God’s Grade ©2015; Photo by RF._.studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/unrecognizable-african-american-scientist-studying-anatomy-with-tablet-3825539/
1 The nervous system: More than 90,000 miles of sensations! The nervous system: more than 90,000 miles of sensations! – Visual Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved May 30, 2022, from http://www.ikonet.com/en/visualdictionary/static/us/the_nervous_system
2 Anatomy and function of the heart’s electrical system. Johns Hopkins Medicine. (2021, August 8). Retrieved June 2, 2022, from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/anatomy-and-function-of-the-hearts-electrical-system
3 16 surprising Facts About Your Heart (infographic). UnityPoint Health. (n.d.). Retrieved June 2, 2022, from https://www.unitypoint.org/livewell/article.aspx?id=20b07ab0-e855-49c6-9ee2-91247e52d5cc
4 Dallas, M. E. (2015, July 20). 10 amazing facts about your blood vessels. EverydayHealth.com. Retrieved June 2, 2022, from https://www.everydayhealth.com/news/10-amazing-facts-about-your-blood-vessels/
5 Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Vascular supply and circulation. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June 2, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/science/bone-anatomy/Vascular-supply-and-circulation