The story of sex — the real story, not the debased version the culture is selling — is so significant it has the power to change how we think about ourselves…and how we relate to God. It is one of the most misunderstood narratives today. To understand this, we must understand our creation. Genesis 1:27 states, “So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” Both male and female are required to reflect the image of God, but when sin entered the garden, identity became confused and relationships were strained. Instead of reflecting God’s sacrificial, giving love, Adam used his passions for himself, and Eve used her desires for her own pleasure, not for Adam’s. And the chasm between men and women, between humans and God felt bigger. Lest this overwhelms us, God had a plan for even this tragedy. He stamped His plan for connection into our very beings, and it is what makes us human.
Consider a bride and bridegroom enjoying each other on their wedding night. God uses marriage more than any other image in the Bible to define his relationship with us. In fact, it’s the primary symbol he uses. Ephesians 5 describes Christ the bridegroom loving his bride, the Church. This isn’t just global love. It’s personal.
God desires you, and he wanted his plan to be so obvious that he chiseled an image of it into your very being.
Sexual love is an icon of divine love. It’s meant to point us heavenward. That’s why there is no such thing as cheap or meaningless sex. Sex is meant to point us to something even greater than the intimate physical experience. The bridegroom enters the bride and releases himself into her welcoming embrace. She receives him and offers the gift of herself. The experience for both is ecstasy. The result of this union is new life. This physical picture demonstrates a spiritual mystery. A bride and bridegroom coming together in sexual love reflect our union with God.
Satan’s goal is to distance us from God, confuse us about ourselves, and to misinform us about sex. God doesn’t hate sex. He created it. Shame, hiding, and confusion were not meant to be a part of that story; they were born when Adam and Eve sinned. In that moment, sex became a way to use and exploit others for personal satisfaction. This is not how our Bridegroom approaches us, though. His goal is to liberate us, not increase our bondage. Christ does not barge in and force himself on us. He doesn’t require us to give ourselves to him. He invites us, desires us, pursues us, and delights in us. In you.
Christ, the bridegroom, wants to marry us. When we allow him to enter, new life results. Our bridegroom holds nothing back from his bride. His self-giving, sacrificial, faithful love propelled him to lay down his very life for you, his beloved. “This is my body which is given for you” (Lk. 22:19). God doesn’t want something from you. He wants you. His love is deep and wide and furious, and it is for you.
Consider this: how can you accept this marriage proposal this week? Comment your thoughts here.
In Christ,
Michelle
Thanks for the reminder of how deeply I am loved. I can’t ever be reminded of that enough.
Whenever I reflect on this truth that sex is merely a dim picture of Jesus’ offer of love for me; only a glimpse of the holy and pure intimacy I will have with him in heaven, I realize that when I am with him I will not feel cheated for having lived as a single man, without the joy of intimacy with a wife, in this life.