The message that sexuality is good, that it is a gift, a glorious gift, is so needed. We need more than just to be told “don’t do it”, we need the beauty of it to blossom free from the grime our culture has splattered on sexuality. This is a lost message. A missing message. If I don’t give it, who will?
(Thoughts before speaking)
To illustrate that we need to follow God’s blueprint for our sexuality I compared it to using a crockpot (because I just used my new one). I pointed out that if you did not read the instructions and just figured you did not need the liner and just put the chili directly in the crockpot…it wouldn’t be very good…at all. Everything works better if you follow instructions and use equipment the way it was designed to be used.
I thought of an expansion to this analogy. When used correctly, it can be a joy to walk into an aromatic house and know that supper is going to be yummy! If used incorrectly…I don’t think the aroma would be yummy chili! It would not be pleasant.
Similarly when we follow God’s blueprint for our sexuality (accepting it as a good thing, guarding it to give it freely to the one we marry) the result is an aromatic life that affects the people around us. Yes, marital intimacy is hidden from the public, but the evidences of an intimate marriage are visible and ‘smell good’ to those who are on the outside. I can think of couples I know who are clearly in love with each other after many years of marriage and it makes me smile and say “I want a marriage like that.”
On the other hand, when sexuality is mishandled, by choice or abuse, it emits a smell that is not pleasant. The smell comes out in a variety of ways. Shame, guilt, hardening of hearts, treating sex as something common or dirty, destructive behaviour and wounded souls.
Some might think it only affects them but just like the smell from the crockpot fills the house, we are affected by the smells coming from the ‘crockpots’ around us. We live in a world full of people ‘cooking without the liner’. We do it ourselves sometimes. It’s a culture of stench.
What is our part in creating a culture of pleasant aroma? In our own lives? In the lives of those around us?
The Bible frequently talks about pleasing aromas (“aroma” is found 43 times in the NIV) especially sacrifices being a pleasing aroma to God. May our lives be a pleasing aroma to God as we pursue His heart for us and our sexuality.
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