“But You, O LORD, know me; you see me, and test my heart toward You.” Jeremiah 12:3
I was recently asked to share my heart for women’s ministry and when I opened my mouth to speak I was a little surprised by what came out; as were the rest of the people in the room. We were surprised because what came out was this, “I want to create a lust for the Word of God in His Bride … Bible study should be like really good sex, you just want to go back for more.” It was in that moment that I was able to see the sleeping giant within me rise up and take its rightful place in my life. I’ve never put my heart into those words before. But once they were out I could see plain as day that it’s the Truth.
The cold hard fact of the matter is that this isn’t just my heart; it’s God’s heart too. He really does want “the whole package” of a marital relationship with us. All too often we shy away from the touchy subjects, like sex, because they’re just that; touchy. They’re so private its taboo to talk about them. But therein lays the danger. If we’re too scared to face Truth, then that leaves those “touchy subjects” un-touched by the Light. It leaves them all too vulnerable to be masked by Satan and his lies of half-truth.
The fact of the matter is, the Truth makes people uncomfortable. That’s why we shy away from it. But that doesn’t make it any less the Truth. When Jesus stepped up to the plate He made people very uncomfortable. He is the living, walking, breathing, talking embodiment of a perfect Law they couldn’t keep. And they hated Him for it. They hated how He made them look foolish. Simply His presence made the darkness in each of them quiver in fear that their false beliefs would be discovered; that their works of religion would be counted not as righteousness (as faith is) but as filthy menstrual rags. (Isaiah 64:6)
He was, is and will always be the Truth. And when the Truth came He dispelled all the lies, the people clung to. He took the stones from their hands and showed them how to love one another by forgiving them completely.
The truth is, it’s hard to be honest with people. It’s hard to wound someone in love and then deal with the consequences. It’s so much easier to kiss them and tell them that nothing is wrong.
My heart has been is and always will be to create a lust for the Word of God in the heart of His Bride. The Church is the Bride of Christ, His WIFE. What is the one thing that sets the marriage relationship apart from all other relationships in life? What is that one thing you do with your spouse that you DON’T do with anyone else? Sex! And God desperately yearns to have relations with His wife, the Church… YOU. That is the truth. And believe it or not, He actually does want more than the sweet pretty face that we Christians love to put on sex. He wants the raw wild abandon that comes from passionate sex. He wants the panting and groping and heat of the moment. He wants that with us, because it’s in those moments when we are truly our naked selves. It is at THAT point that we are naked and unashamed with our Husband.
As Christians we love to slap on a happy face and guild all the edges. But that’s not who God made us to be. He made us from DIRT. He made us to be dirty and messy and covered in grime. And He is perfectly OK with that because then He gets to bathe us. It is through our lack of perfection that He shines. If we’re perfect, or think we are, then we don’t need or even want Him so what would the point be? If we see ourselves as being perfect on our own, then we have no need for a Savior or our Creator to come and fill in our imperfections.
The truth is, we’re not perfect. And we do need Him. And anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you snake oil.
All too often we shy away from facing our true human nature because it scares us. But we don’t have to be afraid of the gritty texture of our nature because it’s who God made us to be: an imperfect creation in need of a PERFECT God. And the more we seek that perfection in ourselves the more imperfection we will find. However. When we seek His kingdom and His righteousness, His perfection and His beauty, we find it every time! And it fills us so completely that it satisfies that primal urge within us to seek perfection. You know, it’s almost like He planned it that way. 😉
There are a lot of genteel ways to say it, but what it all boils down to is sex. God has given us the perfect human example of the type of relationship He wants with us and it is defined by sex. He wants to know you the way a husband knows his wife and He wants for you to know Him that way too! He wants to reveal His secrets to you, His private parts that He doesn’t show to just anyone and everyone. But He is a gentleman; He absolutely positively will NOT force Himself on you. He won’t do anything to you or with you until you are in a committed relationship for life with Him. He respects you enough to keep marriage before sex.
His word, and time in it, impregnates us with knowledge, wisdom, abilities, comfort, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, the list goes on and one. And once birthed we’re able to show and share those fruits of our relationship with Him. Sex is performed in secret; even the children formed from the very act are not allowed to witness the participation. Jesus talks of prayer in the same terms. He tells us not to pray on street corners but to pray in our rooms with the doors and windows closed, effectively shutting out the outside world and creating a private environment allowing you to be naked with God and free from the prying eyes of others who will judge and condemn you with shame.
This long dormant seed in my heart has been re-awakened. It has burst open with such force that it surprised even me. And I know now that I can’t allow anyone to hide its light any longer. God placed this seed of Light, this flower, in me for a reason and it wasn’t in order to hide it from anyone. From day one God has trained me and stretched me and prepared me to say these hard things, talk about the thing that most people have trouble hearing; God wants YOU. Not only is sex the image God gives us in the Bible, it’s what people today know. If there is one thing today’s society knows a LOT about, its sex! Could there be a more effective parable to give them? And they NEED this message because they’re chasing after perfection and relationship in all the wrong places! They need to know how much God loves them, how much He wants them, and how much He longs for YOU.
It’s time for us to re-connect Love with sex. Satan has stolen sex and turned it into something naughty and wrong. Well, the age of his reign has come to an END and its high time we take back what he has stolen! Sex is pure and raw and beautiful. It’s intimate and loving and satisfying and there is NOTHING wrong with that!
If and ONLY if you are married and with your spouse; the next time you have sex and you’re looking deep into each other’s eyes and your bodies are pressed together as one unit think about this: “THIS is the kind of passionate relationship Jesus wants with ME.”
That is the kind of relationship I have with Him and that’s the kind of relationship I pray for you to have with Him. I pray for the kind of EXPERIENCES in His word when you have a page turning, can’t write fast enough, can’t read fast enough to keep up with the rabbit you’re chasing, hugging, puffing, romp between the covers of His Word that ends with you laying your head back with a sigh of pure gratification! I pray you experience that for yourself, and soon, because it will work wonders in your marriage! Trust me, I know.
My friend, don’t be afraid to show God your wild=side. Psst, He’s already seen it, He created it, so why not just go with it and see where He takes you.
Tamar Knochel 