Day 45: Leviticus 18-20; Matthew 28

Happy Valentines Day! Today is a celebration of romantic love. In a world that often cheapens the meaning of love and its most intimate physical expression, our reading of Leviticus 18 reminds us that God has given us a context in which such love can thrive. It is called marriage. If one had any doubt as to the appropriate expression of that love, again, Leviticus 18 is quite clear...it is between one man and one woman in the context of the covenant of marriage. The foundation of that covenant is God's love, holy love. In that intimate love, life and life-expressions can flourish and be enjoyed. Our sexuality is so much more than a physical expression or act. It arises out of the intimacy of persons who live in the communion of love. We are persons in relationship with a deep mutual respect, not objects to be exploited for the pleasure we can gain. And so, all the negatives remind us that our fallenness has affected our greatest physical intimacy and the human race has dealt with that brokenness from time immemorial. As God called us back to our original design as male and female created in His image in Leviticus 18, He still calls us today. In this context of holy, covenant love, God blesses the gift of our sexuality and invites us to grow into an intimacy that is beyond anything physical, a place of trust and rest and security in the love of a life-partner that grows deeper and better with age.