4. Offering Yourself
Scriptures:
- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Observations:
The passage above is at the end of a passage on sexual immorality. Sexual sin is a complicated one. Any sin is against God, but Paul makes a distinction that sexual sin is against one's own body as well.
How does he arrive at this position? Firstly, he takes the comments of entitlement and "need" towards sex and flips them on their heads, culminating in this statement: "The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord and the Lord for the body." (v13b). He then follows that up with the idea that our bodies are members, or parts, of Christ, that when two come together in intimacy, they are made as one, and that he who is joined to the Lord is one in spirit with him . He even asks the absurd question of whether we should take that which belongs to and is part of God and make it part of a prostitute, in this particular case.
So, we see the sinning against God, how do we sin against our own body as well? Our bodies are described as temples of the Holy Spirit. That is, from a very Jewish understanding, the Holy Spirit dwells within each of us who are Christians. I think it would be fairly understandable if I were to say that, for the peoples of the time, for whom temples were very sacred spaces, desecration of a temple would be, in a sense, sinning against the temple. Now, how is a temple desecrated? By performing in it something forbidden, unholy, or against the god in question. So, if our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and sexual immorality, in its intimacy, is like giving over something which is God's in union with something contrary to it, or even joining God to the object of immorality, would that not qualify to be considered a desecration?
Maybe this idea of desecration is a little watered down, now that we don't need to come to God through a specific person at a specific place. We Christians, especially we rational, unfettered, Western Christians, tend to downplay the spiritual, even within our own churches. We rightly realise that the church building is nothing inherently special, but we seem to forget in context that it is intended to be a sacred space. In antiquity, a temple would have been where the god in question often resided or manifested him-/herself. So, let's keep that in mind.
Our society today is so enthusiastic to drag everything good and holy down that I doubt even asking whether one would commit adultery or make/view pornography within St Peter's Basilica or some other such celebrated cathedral would have the intended effect.
Cue Paul's final words on the subject: "You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God with your body." (v20)
Application:
For me, the application is continuing on setting myself along the course of intimacy with God, realising my sin and how that affects me and my relationship with God. This was just providing a rational breakdown of some consequences of my sin.
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The Love Dare
Day 10: Love Is Unconditional
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