Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable. (Lev. 18:22)
Expanded Passage: Leviticus 18:22
It was gross. A young girl was eating an ice cream cone, then stopped and bent down and let her dog lick the cone. She took a few more licks, then gave the dog another turn. According to my house rules, dogs can run around in the yard, sleep on the floor, and play with my kids, but they cannot share my ice cream. That’s crossing the line.
Every relationship has boundaries. Some actions are in bounds, some are out of bounds. Normally, the people involved establish those boundaries, depending on the kind of relationship they have. Sometimes social norms draw the lines for us. Sometimes company policy or government legislation mandate what’s acceptable. Not allowing dogs to eat my ice cream is a humorous boundary, but it’s one I’ve chosen to create with canines.
God has set boundaries for human relationships. He wants our relationships to be full of goodness, not evil. One key boundary concerns who we share our bodies with. God intends and commands that sexual relationships should only be between a man and woman who are married. Communities might try to redraw these boundary lines and make sex something to be shared in various forms of relationships, but God is the designer of relationships. His guidance will not fail us, regardless of policies, laws, or social norms.
If you are living out of bounds, step back toward God’s design.
Jarod Osborne is lead pastor of Pathway [Wesleyan] Church, in Warsaw, Indiana. He is the author of Jaded Faith (WPH).
© 2023 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
