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Corinthians 6:18-20
“Flee from
sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he
who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is
a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?
You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your
body.”
God is
holy. In some parts of the Scriptures, that attribute of God is even repeated
thrice, “Holy Holy Holy is the LORD God Almighty!” And as children of God, we
are also called to be holy. God is devoted to purity and holiness and also
wills for us to walk in sanctification, as written in Thessalonians 4:3-5: that
we should avoid sexual immorality, that each of us should learn to control our
own bodies in a way that is holy and honorable, not passionate lust like the
heathen, who do not know God. The verse clearly states that those who don’t
know God pursue and practice those things – sexual immorality. They have no
control over their own passions, but on the contrary, they let it drive them.
God is omniscient; he knows that we have those desires in us because he made us
to have those desires.
Ever since
the LORD saved me by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, my walk with Christ
has not been easy. I am not saying that in a surprised tone because the Bible
clearly states in many instances that a believer will not only go through persecution
for His Name, but expect loving discipline from the Father. As the writer of
the book of Hebrews puts it, He chastises those he loves. Jesus gives this
analogy on him being the Vine, and the Father the vinedresser, and we are the
branches.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts
off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does
bear fruit he prunes[a] so
that it will be even more fruitful. – John 15:1-2
Most of his
regeneration work in me is through the experiences he lets me go through. I
believe in his sovereignty over all things in my life. He is in control and
everything exists for his greater glory. In his sovereignty, he made me meet
-. Ever since I met him five months ago, I have learned so many things
that I would otherwise never learn alone. As I see it, we are two sinful people
saved by God’s grace in Christ who, by God’s sovereignty, and for His sole
glory, come together with the pursuit of marriage.
Five months
ago, I was a very different person. Themes like Marriage and Sexual Purity are
almost foreign to me. I read about it in Scriptures, but I never thought I will
be putting it into application sooner. But as it is, the Lord operates on his
own timeline, not mine. If it were me, I would think its so soon to even start
being preoccupied about those things because I’m still single and marriage is
too far out to happen. Boy I didn’t know I was in for a big surprise when he
led - to me.
Being
single in this lust-driven sinful world is not an easy battle, much more being
in a relationship. The world around us promotes sexual immorality like it’s the
normal thing to do and would even view Christians as an anomaly for not
practicing it. Though it is hard, I consider it a blessing that God started
this relationship being long distance, because the possibility of the danger of
our hormones raging and the thrill of being in love with each other will eventually
drive us to sin. I am not saying that being miles apart will exempt us from
being careful.
Sometimes
in our conversation, a harmless topic could spark into sexual innuendos. Most
times, it would really stir something deep inside me (and him, too), thoughts
that are not anymore pleasing to the Lord. I have struggled to keep my purity
for the Lord. I despised the sin that so easily entangled me before and I am
not keeping my guard down now. Jesus has paid a lofty price – Himself, to free
me from that bondage of sin. How could I give the devil a foothold to delve in
sexual immorality again disguised in another way. Had not been for the grace
and mercy of God to keep us in sin, the spirit that would dominate now would be
even greater because it will involve another person (which reminds me of the
time when Jesus drove out the spirit out of the demon-possessed man).
It is a
struggle, but Jesus promises it will be worth it. Jesus gives me and him
sexuality to be practiced in the context of marriage. The Bible is explicitly
saying that over and over again, so as to grill it into our hearts lest we
forget. This is a new set of opportunity for us to be sanctified. “Pursue
purity for Christ. Abstain from sexual immorality. Flee from temptation. He
will provide a way out”, these are snippets of Scripture verses that the Spirit
impresses on me in this walk. By His grace, He will preserve us. For His glory,
and our good.
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