http://www.themeetinghouse.com/teaching/archives/2014/life-2-0/part-3-heart-transplant-5614
This one hit me hard.
"Christian spirituality is not about learning a new set of rules to make God happy. That's the way of religion. It's a state of being and becoming that allows us to do whatever we want, because what we want is being shaped by the life and love of God. Christian spirituality says: 'Actually, just do whatever you want, but, slow down enough to ask, what do I really want?'" - Bruxy Cavey
- God is love.
- We're made in the image of God.
- Our true selves are the imagebearers of God. We're currently broken imagebearers, but our true identity is the reflection of God, not of the sin that we're entrapped in.
Then, 1 Corinthians 13 is not only a description of what God is, but it is a description of who I really am.
I am patient.
I am kind.
I do not envy.
I do not boast.
I am not arrogant.
I am not rude.
I do not insist on my own way.
I am not irritable.
I am not resentful.
I do not rejoice in wrongdoing.
I rejoice in truth.
I bear all things.
I believe all things.
I hope all things.
I endure all things.
I need to constantly remind myself of my true identity, not the false identity that the world tries to get me to buy in to.
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
SEX SEX SEX
The best description of the Christian ideal of sexuality that I've ever come across (the highlighted post by EsquilaxHortensis):
But here's a counterpoint:
Taken together, I think they portray the appropriate vision of what God intended humans to use their sexuality for. Sex is ultimately about being able to give yourself wholly to another person, and as the ultimate expression of romantic love. In our secular society, it's often treated as simply pleasure and gratification. It's not that Christians are prudes... in fact, we love sex! We love it for its multiple dimensions, the way it pulls and binds two people together. It does need the appropriate setting for it to flourish, though.
On the other hand, the 2nd link tackles the flip side of this issue for Christians. Whether we meant to or not, we've sometimes given the impression to young women that their worth is atleast somewhat tied into their sexuality. It is not. We can't seriously say that someone's "virginity" is something that makes them more valuable. That's textbook idolatry (getting your value from another source than Jesus Christ), and reeks of works-based righteousness. In other words, we have no right to feel more "righteous" for abstaining. Because we've all lusted before, and that already makes all of us sexually impure. Yes, we should indeed hold out for the one we will eventually love forever, because that's ultimately best for us, and best for our future spouse. But our abstaining in the process does not make us any more "pure" than anyone else. Our purity is an illusion.
God's not a killjoy. It's not that He wants us to abstain before marriage because he doesn't want us to have fun. Instead, He's doing what He always does: teaching us how to love even more deeply, even better than we ever imagined.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)