Sexuality and the Christian

I was sharing with a brother yesterday night through MSN about my struggles in areas of sexuality, temptation, and living out faithfully as a Christian who forsakes fleshly sin and pursuing Godliness. It was really good to have someone to share the deepest corruption of of my human nature with someone who are suffering from the same corruption as well, and upholding each other in prayer and encouragement.

Today I am reminded with a few more friends, relatives and loved ones who are struggling with their sexuality and sexual identity. Some are struggling with low libido, physical incompetence, divorce, prosmiscuity, fornication, pornography, lust and also a confusion of their sexual identity.

For the Christian, these issues are not foreign but very real to each and everyone to live out holy lives. Jesus said that if someone look to someone of the opposite sex and lust, that person is already committing adultery. But we are glad that our sexual failures do not affect how God sees us, sinners forgiven through grace, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Although we are forgiven, our sexuality is still an integral part of who we are and what we are doing.

I am blessed to read a blog here about Henri Nouwen and homosexuality. A famous Catholic priest who was found out to be a homosexual only after his death of which he faced "enormous emotional, spiritual and physical toll on his life and may have contributed to his early death", according to Ford. But Nouwen took the tough and excruciating way by denying his flesh and celibate.

I agree with Larry his blog very well that "there's no difference between being tempted with homosexual desires and any other temptation. The fact that Nouwen struggled with homosexual temptations doesn't diminish his legacy in any way. I'm always surprised when someone thinks that a temptation alone is enough to disqualify you (from salvation). Even Jesus was tempted." (bracket mine)

I am glad that I have friends and community within the church (and also through internet spiritual community) where I can safely share about my struggles and temptations, which Larry Crabb described as the Safest Place on Earth.

"A spiritual community consists of people who have the integrity to come clean. It is comprised of those who own their own shortcomings and failures because they hate them more than they hate the shortcomings and failures of others, who therefore discover that a well of pure water flows beneath their most fetid corruption." (emphasis mine)

May we find safe places and communities of which we can be corrupt as we are, and to support one another to come out of the corruption, or at least, listen to one another's story, and finally to be led to the greatest story of all; Christ died and forgave our sins.