Baptist Church; Cary, NC; October 2, 1991 . . . (month & day made up, year is real . . . probably)
My youth pastor was having ‘the talk’ with the middle school boys. He took two pieces of construction paper and glued them together at the beginning of the lesson, had the awkward talk about our changing bodies, and then attempted to separate the papers.
Of course, they ripped and some of each was left on the other as he peeled them apart. His point was that sex outside the covenant of marriage is scarring in that a piece of you is left with the other person and vice versa.
He's right, and to this day, that’s probably a pretty good illustration.
I still remember it.
And what a PG rated version to talk about sexual immorality.
Paul went a different route in 1 Corinthians 5.
Somewhat.
He mentions incest, excommunication, Satan destroying your flesh, and flickers of The Purge.
His point though, and my youth pastor would agree, is that sex outside of marriage is a specialty sin and we as Christians need to firmly distinguish ourselves from it.
In chapter 6, Paul tells us that as Christians, we are joined to Christ. As such, we must flee from sexual immorality because that joins us to another.
Much the same way two pieces of construction paper are joined and then ripped apart.
The severity of sexual immorality is a bit lost on us in that we can subject ourselves to it with our phones and the internet, not even physically including another person.
The impact though remains the same.
Let’s recap the past 3 days of this mini-study.
Things are lawful but not necessarily helpful.
We need to be intentional &
mindful of our actions b/c standing still will sink us.
As Christians we are joined to Christ,
not to this world.
Look at verse 20 of Chapter 6.
For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body
We were bought with a price. Jesus paid it.
What’s our role in this?
“glorify God in your body.”
Now that she has a job my daughter takes very special care of things she buys with her own money.
Because she felt the weight of what it costs her. She can
translate it to a tangible impact.
God help us recognize, each day, what it cost YOU. Help us to never take that for granted but rather let that be our focus as we make choices with our bodies. Help us recognize when we’re standing still & sinking on the beach of life – not moving as we should to grow. And then have the wherewithal to move.
Amen.
Thoughts to Journal/Pray:
- How has your sexual sin torn a piece of you away? Have you prayed for God to repair that piece?
- What are some ways you can better glorify God with your body/actions?
Reading: