Note from the Editor

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Romans 12:1 NIV

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20 NIV

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV

I usually begin an issue of Heart of Flesh with one Bible verse that seems to speak to the whole of what is about to be presented. This time three passages come to mind—all pertaining to our bodies. Among the poems and writings you’ll find here, there emerges a theme of the self, and particularly the body, as the battleground of intense spiritual occurrences. The body is a place of flesh and sin and corruption. A place that can be defiled. But it is also the form that God created—a form that He is capable of using for great things if we surrender it to Him by taking our bag of bones and sacrificing it on the altar of His goodness, telling Him it is His. The body is where we are baptized in water and in Holy Spirit fire—the holy ground where physical and spiritual matter meet. The body is the place most intimate with our souls, where our spirits dwell, and—even more profound—the place where God Himself dwells if we allow Him. It’s worth stating: your body is a temple—either a temple of the God of the universe or a temple of your own self-worship. This is where divine miracles and great acts of rebellion occur.

The writers and poets of this issue recognize the battleground of the body in different ways, both directly and indirectly. Some recognize their own bodies, or the bodies of those they love, as places of costly sacrifice and surrender to God, leading to spiritual freedoms, love, and peace. Some find the body to be a place of intense loneliness and weighted doubt as they wait for an awakening. A few writers see the body as a sick and dying tether to this world, while others view it as the site of miraculous creation. Some feel the heavy viscosity of sin coursing through their veins, anxious for release.

True worship happens in the body. I pray you keep that truth in your mind as you read, and as you live.

I want to thank the writers and artists who made our 10^th issue possible. Your talent always impresses and blesses me, and I thank you for your patience (with me and my many shortcomings) when it comes to presenting your work. I want to thank Katie Yee for her hard work, patience, thoroughness, and amazing editing skills. You are a huge blessing from God and a great help. I also thank my husband and family for their constant support and encouragement (you all know I love you).

Last, but not least, thank you for reading Heart of Flesh. I hope you are inspired and blessed, and perhaps at times convicted, by this beautiful work.