#224 Salvation and Sex

Thinking about sex and sexuality is one of the places where the morals and values of Christianity differ the most from the morals and values of the surrounding culture in the U.S. I think it's fair to say that American culture in general views sex as something that people deserve and even need. Having sex is viewed as part of what it means to be human. But Christian teaching disagrees. Christians believe that sex is desirable and good in its proper place, but sex is not something that people need. In fact, Christians would stress that sex is not for everyone.

This Christian emphasis is more important than we might realize at first. That's because of Jesus. I can confidently say that Jesus never had sex. Jesus wasn't married. The Bible is quite clear in teaching that God has designed sex only for marriage. The Bible is also quite clear that Jesus never sinned, never went against God's will. So, according to accepted Christian teaching, Jesus didn't have sex.

Now as Christians, we believe that our salvation depends entirely on Jesus, who is God the Son. A key part of our beliefs is that God the Son became fully human so that He could save human beings. If Jesus wasn't fully human, then His life and ministry and death and resurrection on His people's behalf doesn't actually apply to us, and we are lost. So if American culture is right, and people need sex to be fully human, then Jesus wasn't fully human. In that case no one could be saved. But the truth, as God teaches us, is that we don't need sex. Jesus was fully human, like us in every way—except He was sinless and perfect.

Please note that I'm not denying that Jesus had a human sexuality. I'm sure that He was attracted to others and had sexual desires. That is part of being human. But unlike all the rest of us, Jesus never had improper sexual desires and never improperly acted upon his proper sexual desires. Jesus assumed a complete human nature to redeem all parts of human nature. So Jesus must have assumed human sexuality to redeem human sexuality. Through the Bible, Jesus teaches us how His saved and renewed people should live when it comes to sex and sexuality as well as other areas of life.

I understand how it might look bad for me, a married Christian, to tell others that they shouldn't have sex in their current situation in life while I'm in a life situation where I believe I can—and to an extent, even should—have sex. But I'm not making this teaching up. This comes from Jesus our Savior, who lived a fully human life and who knows what it's like to desire sex but who never did have sex. Jesus calls us to turn from our sins and follow Him, offering us forgiveness for our sins and a new mission of living for Him. He wants to free us from having sex control our lives. He wants to teach us a better, more satisfying, more fulfilling way of life with Him.

Grace and peace,

BMH

#223 Game 7

On Saturday my beloved Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Brooklyn Nets in game 7 of their NBA Eastern Conference semifinals matchup. It was an intense game, with several lead changes and a lot of back-and-forth action in the second half. Totally caught up in the game, I don't think I sat down for more than about two minutes once the third quarter started. I nervously paced between the TV and the recliner. I pumped my fist in celebration after Milwaukee baskets and clapped my hands in satisfaction after defensive stops. I moaned in disbelief at ticky-tack fouls called by the officials. And when everything became too much to handle, I simply leaned forward and rested my hands on my knees. Overtime nearly did me in, but my Bucks gutted it out. When it became clear that the Bucks were going to win the game and the series, I nearly lost my mind in jubilation. I raced and jumped around the room. Screaming, I called my dad and dragged him out of bed. Tess rebuked me sternly, threatening me with her unbridled fury if I woke Lanie and Mia up. I didn't care. My hero, Giannis Antetokounmpo, had led the team to victory, squeezing out just enough points and hustle plays. It took me at least an hour to calm down after being so hyped up. The Bucks have won 2 series. If they win 2 more series, they'll be the champs. Let's hope my floorboards can handle the stress.

Grace and peace,

BMH

#222 Watch Along

The internet informed me that this past Saturday (June 12) was Superman Day. To celebrate I pulled my Superman t-shirt out of my dresser in the morning and fired up a couple animated Superman movies in the late afternoon/evening. I'm part of an online Superman fan club, and one of the members set up a movie marathon. Even though we were all in different locations, we all started the films at the same time and used a group chat to share our favorite moments, make witty comments, and wonder where in the world we'd encountered these actors before. It wasn't really the same as watching a movie with other people in the room, but with my family out of town for the weekend, it was pretty cool to "hear" from other people while watching a couple old favorites. It's always good to have something to keep me from talking to myself, and it was fun to experience some other people's perspectives. Plus, even though Tess is a very good sport, it was probably good for me to get my Superman-watching in when she was busy. All in all, it was a good Superman Day. Till next time!

Grace and peace,

BMH

#221 Lament

Over the past year or so I've been trying to practice lament. Lament is a type of prayer that shows up frequently in the Bible. When we lament, we call God's attention to evil, injustice, and suffering in our lives and in the world. A lament is sort of like a complaint and sort of like a protest. Laments are filled with lots of questions that begin with "Why" and especially "How long." (e.g. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? [Psalm 22:1] How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? [Psalm 13:1]) But lament isn't used so much to question God as to cry out for His help or move Him to take action. At first glance, we might think prayers of lament doubt God, but they actually express faith in God. God's people turn to Him with laments because we trust that He cares about the evil, injustice, and suffering in our world and that He has the power, wisdom, and goodness to set things right. Lament gives us a way to pray when other people wrong us or mistreat us or falsely accuse us. Lament gives us a way to pray for and with others who are abused or discriminated against or oppressed, especially when it seems we can do nothing about those situations. Lament gives us a way to bring to God the troubles in our world that we don't fully understand and seem helpless against: things like pandemics and terrible storms and widespread poverty and inequalities in our societies. God cares about these evils and the suffering they bring, so God's people should care about them, too.

Now lament isn't the only kind of prayer. Some wrongs in the world are clearly caused by our own sins. We hurt others; we make wrong and foolish choices. Then we need to confess our sins and wickedness to God and ask for His forgiveness. Laments in the Bible pretty much always lead to specific requests. After calling God's attention to some trouble, we ask Him to intervene—to heal, to restore, to strengthen, to guide, and so on. Laments often also go hand-in-hand with prayers of trust and praise and thanksgiving. We lament because we trust that God cares and will act. We confidently vow to praise God after He acts. And when God does act, we praise His character—who He is—and give thanks for His actions—what He has done. However, while lament isn't the only kind of prayer, I think it's a type of prayer we need, especially in the midst of broken world. Lately I've been trying to include lament in my congregation's worship services: usually alongside prayers of confession but sometimes as part of our more general prayer time (the "prayers of the people" or "congregational prayer" or "long prayer" or whatever you want to call it). I wouldn't say lament is totally natural for me yet, but I'm getting used to it. It seems to help me remember the world's troubles and remind me of the greatness of God's power and care. Lament helps me expand my prayers.

Grace and peace,

BMH