exodus youth

Human sexuality is a wonderful work of art designed by God. It has emotional, spiritual and physical aspects that all work together in a beautiful and mysterious way. Unfortunately, in a fallen world this delicate design is often misunderstood by us and sometimes abused by others.

Everyone’s body is sexual. Once puberty hits, there are parts of the human body designed to react to stimulation by experiencing pleasure. These body parts–called “erogenous zones”–don’t have a mind of their own. They don’t know who or what is touching them, whether it’s a male or female, or if the situation is right or wrong; they just respond to physical touch the way they are designed to, regardless of circumstance.

If you are exposed to sexual activity in a way God didn’t intend–such as through abuse, or with someone you’re not married to, or someone of the same gender–and your body experiences some degree of pleasure, that does not mean that you are gay, bi or anything else. It does not mean that that sexual experience was right for you. It simply means that your body is working, and that’s all.

Sometimes our emotions can get caught up in these experiences, too, and we have confusing feelings toward people or circumstances when we begin to associate them with sexual pleasure. This is natural because we’re supposed to associate sex with a very special kind of intimacy, the intimacy we have with our life-long spouse. God made us so that our mind and heart would naturally form a special bond to the person with whom we share a sexual connection. This is why God is so adamant that we save sexual activity for marriage, the only kind of relationship where we can safely enjoy that kind of closeness (check out 1st Corinthians 6:15-20).