Going "Too Far" As The Bride of Christ
I had an idea this morning but thought it was not worth blogging about, at least until my friend Yvonne dared me to post something that she couldn't agree with!
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There is an increased pursuit in the Church towards intimacy with Jesus. Drawing it's language and passionate expression largely from the Song of Songs, it paints a picture of us being the Bride of Christ. That Jesus is the lover of our soul and that we are created to have both intimacy and ecstacy in our relationship with him.
I am a true believer in this pursuit and have been engaged in it for many years. However, this morning I had a question raised in my mind...
If as Christians we believe that sexual intimacy is to be experienced solely within the covenant of marriage, and that pre-maritial sex is not God's 'best' for us, how far should we pursue intimacy with the Bride Groom prior to our eternal wedding?
Can we in fact go 'too far' in our relationship too early? Are people like Mike Bickle leading us into a spiritual Vegas where anything is permissible? (and yet not beneficial!)
posted by Jon Loeppky at
10:37 AM
3 Comments:
I have 2 answers. First my thoughts, and second the 'biblical one"
"Until we see Him face to face"...that will be the culmination of the relationship. My question is how is it possible to go "too far" with someone you can't see? Now...you could say "Cyber sex!" or "Phone sex!" But seeing as those didn't exist back then, we can't really use those examples. Being the bride is all about awakening our DESIRE for Him. Sex is only a PICTURE of what it looks like. Sex isn’t WHAT it looks like. It’s like in Revelation…where John uses “It was as gold…” to describe a sight that has no words. Our sexual union is SUCH AS the union with Christ. It’s not the same.
Also, lust is sinful desire. Pure desire (without the sin element) is pure and right. Let's also look at this as HE looks at us. With purity. We are not a sinful horny bride, who can't wait to hers. (Sorry!! hah) The whole ‘picture’ is one of purity, and outside of the sin nature.
I’ve seen situations where broken people (usually with abuse or lust issues) have taken to having virtual “Orgasms in the Spirit”. Okay, that’s weirdo-deerdo. That’s evidence of the enemy twisting what is pure.
But to get “Biblical” about it……
When a woman accepted a proposal by a man…they were married. A man would come to the house of the woman, and offer her a sip of wine and a piece of bread. If she ate of the bread, and drank of the wine, (sound familiar?) they were legally engaged….and married. Period. They lived apart for a while. (I think it was a year?? Maybe less? I’m rusty on this) until the wedding and wedding night. But the marriage was LEGAL once the bride had accepted the wine.
Some say that Jesus foreshadowed this ceremony at the last supper. Probably weirded out his 12 friends…as they would have all known the ceremony well. But the betrothal to the world was at the cross.
We can’t go too far once in covenant....
But that's MY opinion...heheh
5:42 PM CST
BTW...Jason had to laugh at my long and wordy response. His was much simpler:
"We can only get close by God's invitation."
Hmm..that IS simpler! God isn't a wimpy dude saying "Well..okay...you can kiss me..." He's a powerful Creator who allows us to come close...and we cannot violate Him. We may think that we are the ones initiating and in charge...but that's rather prideful of humanity to think that way. He is the one who 'woos' and allows us into His presence. We couldn't go 'too far' if we wanted! HE'S GOD!
(I'm still waiting for your thoughts...btw)
ps....does ANYONE else READ this????
7:01 PM CST
I was thinking about deleting this post, but I think your latest comments give it a lot of merit. It is rather prideful for us to think that we can "seduce" God into inappropriate expressions/places of intimacy.
To answer your question: yes, there are other people who read this blog. (But I'm convinced they don't have their own ideas - they're just rummaging blogs for information to consume! That's a challenge folks!!! Maybe it's time to get off of blog welfare? What do YOU think???)
12:34 PM CST
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