I’ll be turning 42 this year and am starting to feel it. The other night I was hanging out with a crowd about half my age. We had just eaten at a restaurant, and many of them wanted to go out for ice cream. I said, “Ice cream at this hour! If I eat ice cream this late in the day, I’ll have a stomachache and won’t be able to sleep.”

One of them raised an eyebrow and tilted their head: “What do you mean you won’t be able to sleep?” This young adult couldn’t comprehend living in a body that doesn’t bounce back from a little extra sugar.

It’s not just the sensitivity to food. I feel my age when I exercise. I just can’t push myself like I used to. And for some reason, hair is deciding to grow out of my ears and nose. (All you young readers, your time is coming.)

I’m not sure what your relationship is with your body, but eventually all of our bodies seem to rebel against us in some way. However, the Bible says that it will not always be like this. Biblical authors like John tell us that one day we will have bodies like Jesus’ body: “We know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2).

Paul says something similar to the Philippians: “[The Lord] will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21).

Did you know that? Did you know that one day your body is going to be just like the body Jesus had when he was resurrected? In my experience, that’s not what many Christians assume about their bodies. Many think that their bodies will decay and be forgotten and that we will be bodiless souls forever up in heaven somewhere. But that’s not true. “For the last trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:52). Our bodies will be resurrected and fit for the life to come!

Why would the Scriptures give us this detail? Why would the biblical authors let us know that we will have Christ-like bodies? Are these facts to pique our curiosity?

That’s not what John says. He says, “All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure” (1 John 3:3). In other words, when we have the hope that one day we will have glorious bodies, we will start aiming for that goal. We will care for our bodies knowing that these are the bodies we will inhabit for eternity. We will live pure lives with our bodies because one day our bodies will be pure and blameless, just like our Savior’s.

What does this mean for you? It means your body is not a temporary shell destined for disposal. It will be converted to be like Christ, yet it will still be you. So it would be best to learn to make peace with your body and appreciate and take care of it. Jesus bought your body with his own blood. And his Holy Spirit inhabits your body so that it can be an instrument for God’s good purposes.

As my body continues to age and arthritis flares up in my knee, I will do what I can to care for this carcass until Jesus returns and makes it new. I will accept that late-night ice cream runs must be few and far between and that I might not be able to keep up with the young crowd anymore. But that’s okay, because my best body is yet to come when Jesus will transform my lowly body to be like his glorious body.