Desperate Joy

In the last post we touched on the idea that one of the primary purposes for our sexuality is procreation. God's desire is for men and women to join together in holy matrimony, to become one flesh, and in that union to bring new life into the world. This vision of the family has been a foundation stone of the Christian faith and of Western civilization for centuries. In our modern context, even among Christians we have come to accept that birth control is acceptable and even good, but this is clearly in contradiction of what the Bible and historic Christian teaching has held. Even a casual reading of the Bible indicates that children are a blessing and should be received with joy. Psalm 127:3-5 reads, "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in t...

  One of the astonishing things that I have seen across my lifetime is individuals and whole societies becoming blind to what should be obvious and natural truths. We have embraced a form of collective delusion, it is almost as if we look at the sky and say, "Nope, not blue, definitely green!" and we look at the grass and say, "Nope, not green, definitely blue!"  We convince ourselves that up is down and down is up. We have all believed a lie for so long we cannot even remember what the truth was to begin with. Nowhere is this more evident than in the area of sexuality. Our culture has come to accept what is evil as good and we call what is good, evil. Most Christians still acknowledge that sexual immorality, homosexuality, and transgenderism are all sinful behaviors, at least those Christians who believe the Word of God, even while many in our society continue to delude themselves into believing those sinful behaviors are good and should be celebrated. They deman...

  Recently Marvel released their newest superhero epic, "Eternals". Of particular interest to many is the fact that this is the first movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to have a sex scene. Marvel movies have been well known for their chastity and lack of intimacy. Many voices cry out, "About time!" My goal here is not to condemn "Eternals" or sex scenes in movies in general, though I usually find that they are not helpful and only serve to titillate and stir up our fleshly lusts. What is of interest to me is the over-emphasis of our culture at large on sexuality. As if something glaring has been missing from the MCU all this time. This is evidence of the attitude so many have in our society who believe that sexual gratification is of upmost if not primary importance. As if we cannot live a happy and fulfilled life without having all of our sexual desires, no matter how bizarre and deviant, expressed and satisfied. Much of this thinking has its roo...

  We live in a disposable culture. We buy things, use them up and then throw them away. We demand immediate gratification. We get bored and want to be entertained. We lose interest in our gadgets and buy new ones. Buy, consume, throw away and repeat. That is the American way, it seems. It is unfortunate that too many of us carry this same attitude into our relationships. We become bored with one spouse and want to trade them in for the newer model. In Matthew 19 we find some of the clearest teaching on marriage that came from Jesus, "4. And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5.   And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6.   Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." (Matthew 19:4-6) We looked at this passage in the last b...

  This might surprise you, but Jesus talked about sex. Last night on the radio I heard a preacher say that there are two things that everybody loves and wants more of but hates it when it is talked about in church: sex and money.   This is certainly true. As Christians, we tend to get nervous when that topic of sex comes up.   But more and more we need to get comfortable with it.   The culture at large is more than happy to promote their vision of sexuality, built off lies from Satan and their own lust-filled desires.   We need to grasp the glorious truth about sex that Jesus taught and spread that truth to those around us. Jesus did not talk a great deal about sex, but He did not shy away from it either. In Matthew 19 we find this scene: "3. The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? 4. And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them ...