God doesn't hate sex.
It makes no sense at face value: God hates something He created? The Bible doesn't paint a picture of God resting and then coming back to find that Adam and Eve are doing anything but resting and God reprimands them. He doesn't ask them, "Hey, how'd you figure out how to do that - that's bad!" He created us for intimacy, and perhaps the most conducive activity for that type of intimacy between humans is sex.
We cannot only say that God doesn't hate sex, but we must show that He loves sex!
How does this look practically? Well, I think it means we preach on sex far more often. In fact, it means we are careful not to whisper the word sex when we preach! Unconsciously, even little things like that communicate that it is a dirty, avoided subject that can only be good once we're married. Unfortunately, while we've pressed abstinence, we've given no information for those who have just been married on how to do it right (please excuse the innuendo).
We cannot only say that God loves sex, but we must explain what it looks like to be in a healthy sexual relationship.
This is more of a one-on-one thing, I believe. But there's needs to be an openness about sex, before AND after marriage. Perhaps the most powerful teaching I ever received on sex is when my pastor was willing to admit that sometimes sex is great, and sometimes it's not great - that's normal. Sex need not look like the sex scenes in the movies - sometimes it will, but other times it won't. Because we're silent on what sex looks like after getting married, we're setting our youth and young adults up for frustration after getting married.
By making sex a topic that is discussed behind closed doors and with 'code words' we're giving power to the society, which is more than willing to talk about sex, albeit, in a totally unrealistic way. Let's take back the power of sex for our youth by being willing to talk, and being proactive about this teaching.
And to end my blog on a really confusing note, in the Bible, when Isaac enters the tent with Rebecca and had sex with her [what taking someone into your tent meant, I believe], that's when they were considered married. That's interesting - think about that one for a little.
Bibliography
"The Christian Broadcasting Network." The Biblical View of Sexuality: Spiritual Life in God. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2014.
Awesome thoughts!! This is the kind of teaching that I think the church needs to adapt so we can not be ignorant to a marvelous gift that God has given us!!
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