Did God create erotic love?

Last week, I wrote a post on the issue of homosexuality exploring the paramaters that revolve around the issue. In dealing with that issue in my gacebook group, I was both appalled and very disturbed to hear it said that "a person's sexuality is a defining part of who they are and how they experience the world." If that is true of anyone whether hetero, homo, or bisexual, then that person is obviously living a deluded, demented, sadistic, and twisted life.

Which brings me to the issue of the oversexualization of our culture. At the conclusion of my post on homosexuality, I said that I don't think that homosexuality is the main issue here- but rather the oversexualization of our culture. Statements like the statement that "a person's sexuality is a defining part of who they are and how they experience the world" show a clear fundamental misunderstanding that has mistakenly associated sexuality as having anything to do with love. Love has become far too sexualized and in such far too conditionalized.

True love, however is above coniditions. It is unconditional, never failing, never ending. It looks beneath the surface of each individual and sees the core of the heart and the soul. It was a few months ago that I had a discussion with one of my best friends about "what love truly is." We were actually talking about physical attraction. While I certainly don't think it is wrong to have physical attraction- love must based on something far deeper than that. In that conversation my friend made the comment "God created erotic love."

I later had that same discussion with another close friend who inspired me to look at the true meaning of erotic love within the context of Biblical times. Erotic love was in Biblical times, the most selfish, most self-gratifying form of love there was. It therein did not refer to just the physical act of sexual union- but to any act that was selfish and sought only to gratify one's self.

With that stated, let me make it clear that in accordance with the Biblical definition of erotic love- God clearly DID NOT create erotic love. The kind of love God calls us to have one for another is beyond conditions. It inspires to look beneath the surface and to see inside the heart and soul. If we would approach with that same person of love- we would transform the world. The problem is that "Christians" today are more obsessed with the things that gratify themselves. This stretches far beyond their sexuality to their quest for identity and purpose. While there is nothing inherently wrong with that quest- the answer to those questions is only found in the person of Jesus Christ.

On the topic of sexuality and specifically the word "sex." The word "sex" is derived from the same root from which we get our word sections. Based on that wording "sexual intercourse" is so powerful because it fulfills the need for us to be connected as sections. In truth, if we see ourselves as nothing more than just sections- we undermine the intrinsic value that God places upon each one of us. We are whole people, not half of a person.

And so, when it comes down to what should be our stance when we approach the issue of sexuality as a whole and to what extent have we become oversexualized? It is people for love to be oversexualized both prior to marriage and even within the bonds of marriage. If our love for another person is based on what we feel we gain from the partnership with that person- then our priorities are out of place and we are guilty of committing the sin of erotic love whether with or without the act of "sexual intercourse." Love is an attitude that seeks better for another person than for ourselves. It is an attitude of commitment and uncompromising sacrifice towards another person. While sexual intercourse is a legally acceptable act within the bonds of marriage, Married couples should approach the act with the attitude not of gaining pleasure for themselves, gratifying and serving to fulfill their own desires- but rather as an opportunity to give unconditionally of themselves to another person. This is the way Christ loved us in His once for all sacrifice for our sins. And this is the way that you are called to love one another in your sacred partnership.