Sex: Human sexuality is a wonderful and powerful gift created by God. God's design for sexual relationships is that they take place between a man and a woman within the protective boundary of marriage. Sex is to be a full expression of love and commitment and joy between a husband and a wife. Through this wonderful gift, God may bless that couple with children; thus the continuation of the human race.
Some may say that God is trying to take away some of the fun of life with this restriction that sex takes place only within marriage. The reality is that the creator of sex commands its use only within marriage for our own protection, because He loves us. A condom is not good enough protection for sex, but marriage is. As a culture, we have completely disregarded God's loving command as we have accepted casual sex, one night hook-ups, homosexual acts, living together, and friends with benefits. As our society has flagrantly disregarded God's protective commandment, people have paid an enormous price: venereal disease, out-of-wedlock pregnancies, abortion, sterility, fatherless children, murderous love triangles, death through AIDS, and uncountable broken hearts and shattered dreams. None of these are new to the human experience, but in our age these have grown exponentially as we have abandoned the Creator's design for sex.
Contrary to what popular culture would have us believe (and some may be surprised by this statement), our society actually has a very shallow and cheap view of sex. In fact, God and His Scriptures regard sex as very important and of high value. Sex is worthy of the protection designed to be given in a faithful marriage.
There is much more that could be said, but most importantly Jesus died for all our sexual sins, and through trusting in Him there is complete forgiveness. God also gives believers the presence of his Holy Spirit who can empower us to be faithful to God in our sexuality, whether we are single or whether we are married.
In summary, sex is a great and wonderful gift from God. But like any gift, it can be used wrongly (as described above), and thus, can bring harm. If used rightly, it can bring great joy and life.
Marriage and the Family: The very first two chapters of the Bible (Genesis 1 & 2) describe God's creation of man and woman, and of marriage. In Genesis 2:24-25 Scripture says, "For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife and they shall
become one flesh. The man and wife were both naked and were not ashamed." Marriage, as instituted by God, is a commitment between one man and one woman and serves as the foundational support for society.
As we have with other gifts given by God, as mentioned before, human beings have tinkered with God's design for marriage - with polygamy, divorce, co-habitation, homosexual relationships, trial marriages. Our experimentation has always proven to have long-term harmful impacts upon individuals, upon society and, particularly, upon children. As a society we are trashing God's good plan for marriage, and as we do, the ramifications are severe across generations. We think we can break away from God's design and his commandments. Even if we do recognize the dangers, we assume our private behavior in these areas impacts only ourselves. And we may escape consequences for awhile, but prices are eventually paid for our experimentation. So many problems are exacerbated by the break-down of marriage and the family, including poverty, low education, fatherless children, crime, drug use, unemployment. There’s an old saying, "As the family goes, so goes society." You may have wondered, “What is the major contributor to the problems that our current society faces?” The real culprit is that we have undermined marriage and the family.
But the good news is that there is a way out; it’s never too late for us to receive God's forgiveness. It’s never too late to return to the protection and security of God’s way for life. Even as we suffer the consequences of our former lifestyle, we can yield to God’s way for our future. Christians take great comfort knowing that “In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Note: For those who struggle personally with homosexuality, or simply question the concept that homosexuality is not part of God’s plan, one or more of the resources listed at the end of this day’s reading may be helpful.
There is no perfect marriage, because marriage is composed of two sinners. Yet with God’s forgiveness and blessing, we can confidently enter into and grow in marriage.
The Poor: The Bible commands in many places that God’s people are to have particular compassion and concern for the poor. Down through the ages Christians have responded to the needs of the poor with immediate relief, such as food, clothing and shelter. More importantly, Christians have responded to the long- term needs by assisting with education, housing, jobs, and faith. The Scriptures condemn laziness, which can lead to poverty. The Scriptures also condemn systems of injustice and greed, which can sentence people to a life of poverty. The Christian faith and God’s Church are among the best tools God employs to alleviate poverty and hunger. Christians should be leaders in the community to promote short-term and long-term relief for the poor.
The Environment: God is the Creator of all things and God has given the human race authority and responsibility to manage elements of His creation. Through greed, selfishness and ignorance people have significantly harmed parts of God’s creation. Christians are called to individually manage what has been entrusted to them in a wise fashion, and with consideration of the environment and those who will inhabit it after them. Churches, Christian groups, and other organizations can and should use their positions and influence to address government, industry and society on behalf of God’s creation. There is a lot more that could be said, but Christians should be in the forefront of caring for and protecting the world that God has entrusted to us.
No comments:
Post a Comment