If you’ve struggled with sexual temptation, maybe you’ve wondered why sexual desire is so difficult to resist.
You’re not alone in wondering. Parents wring their hands as they watch their kids walk into a world pushing sex at them, husbands and wives wonder if their beloved will be faithful, and people the world over are sounding alarms over the very real problems of rape, sexual abuse, and sex trafficking.
Wouldn’t it have been better if God had designed sex with a little less power, created sexual desire with just a bit less voltage?
I’ve felt the iron grip of lust refuse to let me go when I was trying to break free from sexual addiction. I’ve got kids and know that helpless feeling of watching them walk into a school prescribing condoms and affirming sexual confusion. And some of my earliest memories are of family members weeping over infidelity.
Sexual and romantic desires have the power to break hearts, enslave bodies, and wreck the world.
So why on earth did God create sex so powerful?
I want to unpack this a bit because it will help all of us to better navigate this sex-saturated culture.
But this week, I want to begin with this reality: Sex is not the problem, and the power of sex is not a product of the fall.
Sex was powerful before sin entered the picture. In fact, I dare say sex was more powerful then. The atomic power of sex is not something the evil one invented, not something he would ever even dream of. Sex is God’s invention and He loves what He has made.
What we object to most is not the power of sex, but the power of sin. Whether how we eat, drink, marry, parent, work, or play, sin hijacks the power of good and steers it destructively.
Sex is one of the most important areas of humanity Jesus came to “seek and to save” (Luke 19:10). He didn’t come to extinguish sexual desire. He didn’t come to pull the plug and shut the whole thing down. Sin has done that. Jesus came to plug it back in, to restore all the love and life and joy and glory and power that sex is meant to have.
So in whatever way, sex feels too powerful in your life, begin by bringing all your sexual addictions, fears, hurts, and sorrows—sins you’ve done and sins done to you—to Jesus. And keep bringing them. He has come not to condemn but to save. Trust Him to do so.
I’ll write more about this next week, but for now, I have a question: What could it do if we started thinking of sex not as the enemy but as an ally that has been taken captive by an enemy? Leave a comment below.
For you,
Josh
***This article was originally written by Josh Glaser for Regeneration Ministries***