This devotional is adapted from my new book, Sex In A Broken World: How Christ Redeems What Sin Distorts
Your Bible begins with four carefully selected words, four words that I would argue are perhaps the most important words in all of Scripture.
"In the beginning, God..."
With these words, everything in your life - including sex - is given its shape, purpose and meaning.
Genesis 1:1 tells you that your life is not about you; it's about the Creator. It's vital to know that you were born into a universe that by its very nature is a celebration of him.
What this means practically for your sexuality is that everything exists for God's pleasure and God's glory ... and not for your sexual pleasure and glory.
You and I must approach sex in a way that gives God the glory that belongs to him. So when we're thinking and acting sexually, we should be conscious at that moment that our body and our desires belong to the Lord.
Let's be honest - it's counterinutive to think and act this way! It's natural, on the other hand, to be propelled by momentary and personal sexual desire, forgetting that there is One who owns every aspect of our sexuality.
We have to remember this: human beings were designed to be resident managers of the created world that God owns. God made and owned the beautiful garden of Eden, placed Adam and Eve in it, and then commissioned them to live in and care for the garden he made and owned.
Adam and Eve didn't own what they'd been given. They didn't make the rules. They didn't get a vote when it came to the purpose for their own lives and for everything else. They were there to recognize God's ownership by fulfilling his purpose.
All of that still applies to you and to me and to our sexuality today.
When you put yourself and your particular definition of pleasure at the center of your world, not only are you rejecting God's wisdom and rebelling against his authority, but you're also questing for his position.
Sound familiar? We need only to recall the shocking and sad story of the disobedience in the garden to tell us where rebellion against God's position of authority leads.
You see, our problem with sex doesn't begin with lust, with bad choices, or with sexual misbehavior. Our problem with sex begins when we forget that God must be at the center of this part of our lives as he must be with any other.
Are you struggling to submit your sexuality to God's authority? There is hope! First, the Lord zealously holds on to his position at the center of all things. He will not forsake his position of authority or give his control to another.
And second, when we quest for his position of authority, he convicts us when we're wrong and restores us with his forgiveness. He fights daily on our behalf, causing us to love wisdom and to hate foolishness and inviting us to love his kingdom more than our own.
After each stumble, he invites you to run to him and not from him. And someday, he'll take us to a place where the struggle is no more.
God bless
Paul David Tripp
This devotional is adapted from my new book, Sex In A Broken World: How Christ Redeems What Sin Distorts
Reflection Questions
- How have you tended to put yourself in the center of your world of sexuality?
- What does it look like for you to be a "resident manager" in your sex life? Be specific.
- How does a self-centered lifestyle breed misery rather than joy? Look to your own life for examples, as well as examples in the outside world.