I love my mother-in-law. Really!
And so I always will remember that time when I wanted to do something very special for her. After careful consideration, I decided that I would use my glass blowing skills to make her a one-of-a-kind glass bowl!
Before creating the bowl, of course, I first had to establish specifically what would be the bowl’s function – its purpose or intent. This bowl, I determined, would be used to hold special candies or fruits and would be displayed on my mother-in-law’s mahogany dining room table, under the light of the chandelier.
Perfect, I thought. And off I went to create my masterpiece, my gift of love to my wonderful mother-in-law.
In along with my established intent, I decided that this bowl would have a diameter of at least fourteen inches. It would have a small pedestal base of approximately three inches with smooth rounded sides rising up from the base nearly seven inches. Red would be its primary color. It would be a beautiful, useful piece.
My heart was excited! Out of my love for her I had designed a gift that would be perfect for its intended use. And beautiful!
I worked feverishly and in a short time, there it was! Oh, how proud I was of this gift. It was just how I planned it. Love expressed through the work of my hands, designed and intended to be shown in a place of prominence, respect and with a specific purpose.
Crash!
No, it did not break. Worse! Someone—I won’t say who— someone used my masterpiece, designed to hold fruits or candies and grace my mother-in-law’s cherished dining room table, to feed the dog! They removed it from the center of the table and then used it to scoop dog food out of the dog food bag. They then proceeded to put my bowl on the kitchen floor so that the dog could eat of out it!
“That clearly was not my intent!” My heart sank.
Now I realize that the bowl had the capacity to be used as a food bowl for the dog. But that was not what I had designed or intended for my creation!
So it is with the human sexual relationship. Sex has the capacity to be used for ways that it was not designed or intended to be used. We humans have the capacity for sex with animals, deceased people, large numbers of people, family members, persons of the same gender…and more. But the capacity to do these things does not mean that they are the Creator’s design or intent.
The Creator, out of love designed human sexuality and proclaimed its intent: male and female (opposites), committed (forever) and exclusive (one).
The creator of the glass bowl (me, in that case) knew the use for which that bowl had been designed—to be placed on the dining room table and to hold candies or fruit. And though, it can be used for a dog dish, which is not its design or intended purpose.
The Designer and Creator of human male and female is God, and He alone has the exclusive right to determine the intent of human sexual behaviors. And, though men and women have the capacity to have sexual intercourse with the same gender, it is not the Creator’s design or intent. God’s intent clearly is one male and one female for sexual relating in the context of a permanent marriage. And it is only by living in accordance with God’s perfect design and intent that we fulfill the purpose of sexual relating and the satisfaction and joy that comes with it.