Worth The Wait? Why waiting for marriage to have sex is so important.

Not too long ago I had the opportunity to give the weekend message called "God and Prostitutes" at Van Dyke Church.  In the message I talked about the Covenant (not to be confused with a contract) relationship of marriage in comparison to the Covenant relationship between Christ and us.

In that message the core scripture I used was Ephesians 5:25-32.  In it, it talked about the love of a husband for his wife (giving up his life for her) and how it says that "A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two become one."  It is a great mystery, but an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. (Italics my addition)


While it IS a mystery and always will be how this two-become-one thing works, there is a strikingly clear message that is being told through stories and scripture that we absolutely NEED to understand.

Let's start unraveling that mystery, shall we?

To begin,  this is what we know:

• Sex is good.  Genesis 1:27-28, Proverbs 5:18-19, Song of Songs (The whole book pretty much..and rated R)

• Sexual relations are meant to be inside the covenant relationship of marriage .  Genesis 2:24,  1 Corinthians 7:2-3, Commandment #7 of the Ten Commandments, Hebrews 13:4, plus many more.

You and I, however, know that throwing a bunch of scripture at teenagers rarely does a lot of good.  They give the "glazed" look, the eye rolls.  In their minds, thinking "This is so outdated!"

That response is met with our response of "Oh, they are just being kids."  And we move on.

NO.  

This is dangerous.  Now, more than ever, I am convinced we need young people to understand the dangerous and pain-filled road they will to walk down if they don't get this right.

How? You may ask.

Tomorrow I will be discussing the whole idea of marriage through a near-eastern Jewish lens and tradition saturated in symbolism that is relevant today. 

 It's a great story of love and intimacy.  I love great stories.  Because great stories speak.  And this one?  This one speaks volumes.