how the church should be talking about sex

           “Prior to marriage, the enemy does everything in his power to drive us together. And after marriage, the enemy does everything in his power to drive us apart” (advice given to the author prior to her wedding). And therein lies one of the mysteries of sexual attraction. There’s a lot more to it, or in God's plan there should be, than just physical activity. I’m not quite sure what I was expecting when I asked for a copy of Sex, Jesus, and the Conversations the Church Forgot (Baker Books,2018), but my expectations were exceeded.

                I almost think I expected a lot of heavy-duty, hard-to-understand, theological reading that would make the most devoted seminary student cringe. And at the same time, I know that far too often, preachers are reluctant to talk about ‘all things sexual’ for fear of offending someone. (i.e. cause people to cut back on their tithes and offerings). I felt that I needed to get someone’s take on how Jesus talked about sex, and not just listen to the voices that want to denounce the LGBQT movement, while ignoring infidelity, adultery, fornication, and all the other sexual sins that are out there.

                So, I was surprised when I started reading, to find that Mo Isom has found a way to write about these topics in ways that are totally understandable, and totally in context with the scriptures that she used to make certain points. If we think that it’s just the world that needs to have these conversations, and hear these truths, we need to step back for a minute and look at how the church, in her quest to make everyone feel welcome, has forgotten some of these truths, and how she needs to hear them again. Perhaps hear them in new ways, and definitely hear them in ways other than “don’t do this.”  We need to be reminded that God isn’t trying to deprive us of joy by saying that sex outside of its intended purpose is wrong, but rather that He’s saying that He has something better in store for us than promiscuous, outside-of-marriage, sexual relations which cheapen our worth in our own eyes, rather than glorify God.

                But beyond telling Biblical truths in readable, relatable, understandable language, Mo takes this discussion one step further. She is telling her story, sharing her pain, and above all, how once God got hold of her, her journey, her path to recovery. 

                I’ve read the Biblical book “The Song of Solomon” and several commentaries about it, and the book is so full of metaphors and literary expressions that I still haven’t been able to uncover the book’s message: the beauty of sex as God designed it.  I’ve read other books about the biblical expression of sex, written by ‘experts’ in their field, and get lost in their lengthy detailed expositions. So, it’s a delight to read a book that is actually written in such a way that it is meant to be read by the majority of the readers in the world who don’t have advanced degrees in linguistics, sociology, and theology.

I wholeheartedly endorse this book!

5/5