Yesterday’s post, “Magic Mike or Tragic Mike? The Christian Woman and Her Entertainment”, struck a nerve with some. The feedback I received was mostly positive. I’m thankful that so many people took time to read it and share their thoughts publicly and privately. I am thankful for the comments that challenge me and even the ones that I disagree with.
One of the responses especially stirred my thoughts and convicted me that the message needed a follow-up. He said:
For most of my life, the majority of the messages I have heard about the Bible could fit into this three-point outline:
- God is good.
- You are not very good.
- Do better.
Although I believe this outline to be a declaration of truth, I find that repeatedly declaring my shortcomings doesn’t necessarily help me “do better”.
In my years of ministering to women I have heard a broad range of confessions of women who knew they weren’t very good. Many of these women have confessed a vast chasm of sexual sin. They escape to another world of fantasy. Some would rather please themselves than be intimate with their husbands. Yet others have indulged in affairs. Many women are keeping secrets of the heart.
Maybe today you are burden with a sexual sin that is hidden. Maybe you want to get out but you have no idea how. I don’t want to leave you with another laundry list of your faults. I don’t want to pile more guilt on top of your shame. I don’t want to simply leave you the message “do better.” I want to tell you how.
Let me introduce you or possibly re-introduce you to Jesus.
As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.
When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
“No, Lord,” she said.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”
You may feel like the weight of pressure feels like a stoning. But Jesus can do the same for you as he did for this woman caught right in the act of adultery. He sparred her. He released her. He urged her to “sin no more.”
Jesus also said, “I came so that they could have life—indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest” (John 10:10). You know, living vicariously through a book isn’t life to the fullest. Spending your thoughts day dreaming about a man who isn’t yours isn’t living life to the fullest. Giving your body away to man who is not your husband isn’t living life to the fullest. There is so much more that could be yours.
If these words are piercing your spirit, know this, the desire you have isn’t wrong. The desire to be loved, to share your life, and to be romanced isn’t a flawed desire. In fact those desires come from your Creator.
The vast desire and capacity a woman has for intimate relationships tells us of God’s vast desire and capacity for intimate relationships. In fact, this may be The most important thing we ever learn about God–the He yearns for relationship with us. “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God” (John 17:3). The whole story of the Bible is a love story between God and His people. He yearns for us. He cares. He has a tender heart.- Stasci Eldredge Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul
The problem comes when you settle for a counterfeit version of love. Those cheap imitations will only leave you thirstier than when you arrived.
Remember what Jesus said, “I came so that YOU could have life- indeed, so that YOU could live life to the fullest.” If you want to experience the deepest love that this life has to offer it comes only through surrendering to the one who wrote the most intimate love story of all- Jesus. He is the one who rode in on a white horse and laid down his life for you. He will give you the love that you’ve always dreamed of. He alone can give you what your heart yearns for.
But how?
Jesus stands with his arms extended. Now it is up to you whether or not you will join yourself to Him. It is not about “doing better.” It is not about following a code of conduct or even modifying your behavior. It is about uniting yourself to a God big enough to fill all the holes in your heart.
- God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 1 Cor. 1:30
- My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Gal. 2:20
- And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. Gal. 3:27
- For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. Eph.2:6
- Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. Phil. 3:8-9
