Somebody had to say it

I read an article in Relevant magazine that magnified our issue with the "s-word" in our faith communities. It was one of the 5 Uncomfortable Issues The Church Needs to Talk About

Why are we silent? Honestly, we are not silent about other's sexuality. We are vocal about our concerns and God's Word towards a myriad of sexual issues and sins that manifest themselves in the lives of those around us. 

And I think there are great speakers, bloggers, teachers, even institutes who are working on fueling a Christ-centered conversation that they hope and pray will produce transformation.

No, I mean us. Regular believers in regular churches. Small groups, Bible studies, friendships. We struggle to share what many of us deal with, and that is either sexual sin in the past or current sexual desires and issues. 

Our reservation is beyond the private nature of sex. It's beyond the concern over polite conversation. I believe if we shared we'd have to expect a response. We fear the response, or we fear that we'll have to give one. Everyone would be exposed. What would we all say?

Brennan Manning in Ragamuffin Gospel is faithful to remind us that the ground is level at the foot of the Cross. We are all radically rescued. When it comes to past or current sin struggles, we have the privilege to both reflect our humble state and our incredible Savior. What we want to both give and receive is not condemnation or judgement, but hope, healing or help.

I believe many of us feel inhibited to share hope, healing, or help because if we were really honest, we can't give what we don't have. We haven't actually sorted through our story with Christ. I've said He only deals in redemptive stories. Our story has been redeemed--do we know it? If we did, I think we would and could share without shame or stigma the truth of His story in us and how He continues to make and keep us whole. We could actually engage in a real, full conversation that the Church longs to have, helping others beyond shelved, stuck, shamed, secret, or straight-up broken.

It's not a two-way conversation either. There's another voice. You know, God is not mute on the subject of sex. Or redemption.

I recall a time as I taught God’s Word, that we ran into two separate stories which both tied into sexual sin. As I shared God’s heart concerning those passages of Scripture someone in the group was visibly uncomfortable and growing more uncomfortable by the minute. Continuing to talk through God’s perspective and His involvement in these situations and in the lives of these people, she finally motioned to me and said, “Excuse me; you realize that you’re talking about sex.”

I understood her discomfort. I used the "s-word" at church. It’s hard to imagine that a holy and pure and beautiful God would dig into that subject. We may see Him as the God Who created rules around sex and most of us know God’s Word contains a lot of “don’t” about sex. Beyond the “don’t” and the foreign agricultural love terms in Song of Solomon, discussions of sex get personal and physical. At times we can feel they don’t fit well in a discussion with God.

Thankfully the God we have not only designed sex and sexuality but also understands that the very things that He has designed us to be and do--in a perfect and beautiful and holy way--are the same things we can fail in. We can mess that up. But He’s a God who specializes in loving and healing and restoring, making us new by addressing all of the failures, mess ups, and the screw ups. I shared with her that while sometimes it’s hard to listen to, understand, or explore, God’s Word is full of people who have messed up. And moreover it’s full of people that have messed up sexually.

What’s amazing is that God is at the center of every single one of those stories. The people in those stories don’t get the glory, they don’t get center stage, and the sin doesn't get center stage either. God gets center stage. God’s story, the Bible, is about God. He’s at the center. Understanding that God is at the center of each of these stories is going to be critical as we delve into the fact that God desires to enter into the center of our own mess. And He gets the glory for getting us out and making us new. 

So, if you were a not-yet-believer, young or undiscipled believer, or lived in a home where the things of this world were the only things that were taught--there is a story for you.

If you experienced the presentation of God’s laws in a Bible-infused culture which was long on condemnation and shame but rather short on the love, practical explanation, and grace-filled counsel necessary to help you know Him and desire to follow His ways--there's a story for you.

If you knew God, knew better, and still did it--there's a story for you.

These were real people with real pasts stained with sexual sin, and in God, they ultimately found healing and living beyond all that. His whole story is found with prostitutes and kings. What He did for them, He can do for us.

I'll say the "s-word." But I'll say it with hope, healing, and help because He has made me whole. What He did for me, He can do for you.

Just another seed of my faith,
Ginny