Theme of the Week: Our Sexuality Matters to God
Bible Verse: “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 ESV
Scripture Reading: Proverbs 7:1-15
This passage is Old Testament language for what the New Testament calls being born again of the Holy Spirit (John 3:1–9). Something deep inside us changes. We start treasuring God’s commands from the heart. We experience the gospel as an intimate friend. We are not ourselves geniuses. We are just saying to God’s wisdom, “I want you more than I want any woman or man.” Here is why we all need God to give us new hearts like that. This passage reveals the kind of world we are living in.
The father saw something. He wants his teenage son to see it too, so he can walk into adulthood fully alert.
Who is involved? The man, in this case, is one of “the simple.” (Proverbs 1:4, 22). A simple person, a petî — related to the Hebrew verb meaning “to be open” — this person is keeping his options open, uncommitted, still “exploring life,” we might say. So this particular simpleton is feeling restless early one evening and takes a walk. He is curious. He has heard about a certain part of town — or certain sites on the Internet. So there he goes, probably thinking, “I can handle this. I’m strong. And I need to see these things for myself anyway.”
“Wily of heart” means, literally, “guarded of heart.” She is unguarded in her dress, revealing much. But she is guarded in her heart, revealing nothing. There are men and women who do not know what a relationship is. They have never experienced it. They can role-play a relationship, but they do not give their hearts away. Sex they give, but themselves they guard. This young guy has no idea what he is walking into.
In our modern world, studies now show that pornography rewires our brains with addictive power, taking us prisoner.1 But we can be wired back for intimacy with God and real relationships with others through God’s redeeming love.
1 William M. Struthers, Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2010).
Taken from Proverbs: Wisdom That Works by Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., © 2012. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, crossway.org.
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