God-Made Products

God made man; God made woman. Male and female, in His image, He created them.

There’s no better time to be reminded of this than today.

It is hard to believe that in developed countries with advanced education systems and material resources available to all—a large portion of the population has found itself dissatisfied with a generous lot in life. Large parts of society have determined that to be truly happy, to live in freedom, to find the ultimate experience of life, fate must lie in the hands of not God, but man.

I think back to that original sin some six-thousand years ago. In a well-kept garden with all the needed amenities, there slipped in a serpent, a lie, and the course of mankind changed forever.

Purchasing Expensive Lies

I believe we’re buying the serpent’s lies again. Attempting to shed the holy image we were made in and shape an image of our own, we’ve again purchased the lie that we can be like God.

Right down to gender choices.

Which starts to look more like the image of Satan than the Holy Trinity, desiring to put man-made thrones in the high places of God (Isaiah 14:12-14).

The Truth

In his sermon on Mars Hill, the Apostle Paul throws down a dramatic truth to the listeners gathered, and I keep thinking this is a message we church-age believers need to hear again and again.

Paul said:

“The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist …” Acts 17:24-28

God not only gives us life, but he also decides in what geographical area and in what era or age we shall live.

This means—and this is the truth we’ve lost sight of—God is sovereign.

But the nonbelievers in our society don’t want to have anything to do with a sovereign God. They want to be God, not obey Him. Again, we’re mirroring the wrong entity these days.

In Colossians 1:76-18, Paul writes of Christ:

“… by Him all thigs were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

“All Things” Includes Intimacy

His supremacy over all things includes our intimate relationships.

A myriad of God-denying practices have cropped up in our culture. But when I look back at the garden incident, should I be surprised?

Probably not.

Satan will do anything in his power to discredit God and turn our heads, eyes blind, to his (Satan’s) delusional glory. This is what gender preference selection, and sexual immorality is about. The enemies of God seek to convince the objects of God’s affection to not just turn from God, but to mock Him.

Sexual Immorality Mocks God

I believe sexual indiscretions strike at the very heart of our Maker. When you consider that in the Old Testament, God refers to himself as the husband of Israel (Jeremiah 31:32) and in the New Testament Christ is referenced as the groom of the church (John 3:29; 2 Corinthians 11:2), truly the relationship of husband and wife is a shadow or metaphor of the relationship between our God and his people.

If we humans had not perverted the picture of the healthy physical act between a married man and woman, then what I said wouldn’t have initiated a wince.

But we have perverted the physical image of marriage and the meaning of sex. Just drive down the highway and glance at a billboard. Watch an “R” rated movie. “Listen to outlets speak of five-year olds getting sex education.

Looking Deep

If human brides and grooms are metaphors of Christ and his church, then what we have to learn is that the physical act of love represents the vulnerable connection between a holy God and his people in covenant. It’s not about the physical pleasure, although that’s the bonus part for man and wife, but it’s about the connection. God willingly wants an intimate relationship with you and he shows this to you and me through the spiritual bond of marriage.

No wonder Satan strikes hardest at the sexual gift given to men and women. In matrimony, husbands and wives are living metaphors to the unbelieving world around us.

Here’s the Deal

In John 10:10, we’re given the true motives of the old lie-selling serpent, the Devil. He comes to the pinnacles of God’s creation in order to steal and destroy life. Christ came for the opposite. He came to restore life and dwell among men and women in loving covenant.

All that is going terribly wrong around us is the work of a spiritual enemy. We wrestle not against our own humankind, but against the spiritual enemies lurking in the dark and unseen (Ephesians 6:12).

It is through turning to the Lord in passion and prayer that we will snatch our loved ones out of the snares that lie like mine fields all over our world today. There is always hope of redemption through our Lord, Jesus Christ.

There’s Work to Do

We can be like God, but we cannot be God. The efforts to control our gender or our destinies are futile and lead to a dead end. But, being made in his image, believers in Christ can reflect God to the world, overcoming the lies with truth, the hate with love.

Go forth friends and warriors. We’ve work to do and truth to proclaim!

If I perish, I perish,

Laurie

Read a chapter of Laurie’s novel, Calculated Encounters, for free here.