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“Sexual Wholeness”
From the very beginning, the human story has been one of deep conflict and alienation with our bodies.
God gave the first humans, Adam and Eve, a fully furnished paradise and set an important boundary in place: they weren’t supposed to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Soon after, a serpent came on the scene, seducing the couple into eating from the tree. Now we read one of the most tragic verses in the Bible: “The eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths” (Genesis 3:7).
Sin distorted their vision, ironically, by opening their eyes. Prior to this moment, they saw with the pure eyes of God. Now they saw with the marred vision of human fallenness.
The consequences would continue to haunt humanity. Still today, when we think about our bodies and sexuality, it’s often done under a burden of shame, regret, grief, and anger.
But this is not the end of our stories. There is hope. In power and love, God can form us deeply in the way of Jesus. In him, our bondage is overcome. Our wounds don’t have the last word. Christ is victorious.
In Jesus, a new humanity is offered: one not shackled by the prison of sin and shame but liberated into the fullness of God’s love. In that singular act involving that tree in the Garden of Eden, the world was sent into a dangerous tailspin of sin. But then Jesus came and, in an act of obedience, forever changed the trajectory of the world.
Yes, Adam and Eve hid behind a tree, naked and conquered by shame. But Jesus hung on a tree, naked, and conquered shame.
In Jesus, shame doesn’t have the last word. Our desires no longer need to be disordered. We can live in the freedom that comes in his name.
Sexual wholeness is achieved with help from others. Have your sexual desires become disordered? Seek a sobriety partner or group. Are you lonely? Pursue social bonding with others. Are you married? Practice the fullness of communication with your spouse that can only come through lovemaking.
About this Plan
As New York pastor Rich Villodas defines it, a deeply formed life is a life marked by integration, intersection, intertwining, and interweaving, holding together multiple layers of spiritual formation. This kind of life calls us to be people who cultivate lives with God in prayer, move toward reconciliation, work for justice, have healthy inner lives, and see our bodies and sexuality as gifts to steward.
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