O Holy Night is one of my favorite songs at Christmas. This year it reminded me our hope in Christ also includes the renewal of our sexuality. We’re in desperate need of hope here.
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
Many men suffer long under the weight and oppression of sexual sins. And while they might not question their eternal salvation, many have lost the hope of ever-experiencing true freedom and joy in the sexual area of their life.
They are defeated and live in despair. Life is spent merely trying harder to, at least, minimize the damage of their sins.
The hope of Christmas is Immanuel – God is with us! He is with us always and in every aspect of our lives, including our sexuality.
His presence reminds us just how much he cares. A sparrow doesn’t fall without our God knowing it, and the very hairs on our head are all numbered. Can it be he cares for our sexuality too?
Jesus is the way, showing us how to live as men fully alive. His example shows us how to navigate even the wild and dangerous road of our sexuality. And this does not mean we must be celibate or repress our sexual energy.
Certainly, we are more than just sexual beings, but sexuality is part of our created design. And we bring God glory by living to the fullness of how he crafted us.
Like a father who delights in giving gifts to his children, so God desires for us to delight in the gift of our sexuality. He wants us to freely enjoy all he has made us to be.
What’s more, the work of Christ frees us from sin. No longer are we burden by our sinful thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. We can now rejoice as we partner with Christ to restore our sexuality back to its original glory.
Can you imagine what it might look like to live in the utter freedom and beauty of holiness – to be wise and mature sons of God with respect to our sexuality?
As we mature in Christ, we essentially gain the freedom to do what we want, because what we want is to do what is pleasing to him. We become like homeowners of our sexuality and not as one still needing a babysitter.
All too often we act like untrained children, either wasting our sexuality on empty pursuits or hiding it in fear of punishment.
While learning how to handle such responsibility will take much time and training, it is tremendously hopeful to know it is possible.
Thanks to the coming of Christ into our lives, we don’t have to continue living as children who don’t know how to handle their impulses. We get to live as mature sons of God who are given free rein of our own house. What a wonderful thought!
Fall on your knees
O hear the angel voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born
Do you have the hope of one day being a “homeowner” of your sexuality? Are you growing into the man that God can trust with it?
