Imagine getting your son a highly prized gift, one you know will bring him much delight as he explores it and discover its many joys. It brings a smile to your face just knowing how much enjoyment it will bring him.
Now imagine others told your son this gift was actually no gift at all, that in fact it was an impossible test of his obedience to you, and that he would be severely punished if he ever mishandled it.
As a result, your son now lives in the fear of failing you and in the shame of his previous failures. He begs you to take this “gift” away, believing it is just too much to handle. And when you don’t he blames you for giving it to him in the first place – he never asked for it after all!
I imagine you would be deeply hurt if this was your son’s experience. Something you intended for his good he has come to despise. It may also make you angry because others told him lies about your gift and he never realized its original glory.
I believe this is only a glimpse of how God feels in giving us the gift of our sexuality.
He intended us to truly delight in our sexuality, to explore its mysteries and discover it’s many joys.
Yet many men have never been taught to view their sexuality as a gift. It is often considered a burden and, at best, a necessary evil for procreation.
And because it seems impossible to keep this powerful force on a tight leash, many men live in fear and shame, even blaming God for making them sexual beings.
Is it not God’s fault for giving me such a high sex drive? And if my sex drive causes so many problems, is it not better just to be rid of it – to pray that God takes it away?
When we don’t see our sexuality as a gift, we often come to despise it or just merely tolerate it. And this breaks God’s heart.
Our challenge as the true sons of God is to reject the lies and remember the goodness of his gift. God declared all of his creation, including our sexuality, to be very good.
We are called to glorify God in all things. And part of this plays out in actually enjoying the good gifts he has given us to enjoy. So even when we take great delight in our sexuality, we still recognize it as a gift and give the praise and honor to God.
When we recognize it as a gift we can also freely give it to others, bringing more creativity, passion, and generosity to all our relationships. This lets our sexuality shine as light in a dark world and declare the goodness of our God.
Do you see your sexuality as a gift? What lies have kept you from seeing this truth? How might seeing your sexuality as a gift change your day-to-day experience of it?
