Our culture says if you have attractions to the same gender, it means you’re gay. In other words, you’re defined by your desires.

This is not new. Eve desired the forbidden fruit and counted its beauty in her eyes as an indicator it was right for her. Humanity has always sought to discover itself apart from the One who made us.

Christ teaches something far different. He teaches that we live in a world where all is not what it seems, that who we are runs deeper than what we’re drawn to, what feels good, or even what we’ve done.

Humanity flails about in search of identity.

Take for example, physical fitness. We acknowledge that a person will sometimes have conflicting desires (e.g. desiring to lose weight and at the same time desiring to eat a package of cookies), and so it is good to forfeit one desire for a worthier one even when the lesser desire feels natural and the better desire feels unnatural. And so, physical trainers and dieticians are unmoved by our whining. For our sake they stand firm. Thank God they do.

We’re okay that identity runs deeper than desire for Oreos, yet we still scoff at the idea that identity runs deeper than sexual desires. If it feels good, it’s who you are, so go ahead.

Identity is too important to entrust to attractions. We need a greater, more reliable Source to tell us who we are and what our sexuality is for.

Christ stands firm. Not because he is a harsh god who cares nothing for your physical longings or your loneliness. But because he knows what runs deeper. He knows who you are.

Question: What helps you draw your identity from Christ, even in the midst of your feelings, attractions, and experiences?

Drawing deep,
Josh