“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
No comments:
Post a Comment