HOLY DESIRE AND HOLY LOVE
“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27).
When the heart truly desires God, it also desires to walk in His design. In every generation, the people of God must learn again that love is not defined by the shifting winds of culture, but by the unchanging Word of the Lord. Marriage is a holy covenant, born in the garden before sin entered the world, between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6). It is God’s appointed place for the beauty of physical intimacy, a reflection of Christ and His Church (Ephesians 5:31-32).
Yet our fallen hearts often long for things outside of that sacred boundary. Some wrestle with desires for those of the same sex; others are tempted toward adultery or impurity of many kinds. All are called to the same cross. The call of Christ is to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him (Luke 9:23). We are not condemned for temptation, but we are called to resist its pull and submit every desire to the Lordship of Christ.
It is not a sin to love another person. Love, in its purest form, is the very essence of God (1 John 4:8). But sin enters when love is distorted into lust or when affection moves outside the bounds God has ordained. The world says we find freedom in self-expression; Christ says we find freedom in obedience (John 8:31-32).
Many who follow Jesus experience deep, lifelong struggles in this area. They are not less loved, nor are they beyond grace. The church must learn to embrace with compassion those who walk this narrow road. We dare not single out one sin for condemnation while excusing others such as greed, pride, or materialism (Romans 2:1). The same grace that forgives the liar and the self-righteous also forgives the sexually broken. The gospel levels us all at the foot of the cross.
To desire God above all else means surrendering even the most personal parts of our identity to His will. It means believing that His ways are not only right but good (Psalm 18:30). His commands are not chains—they are the pathway to joy. The Holy Spirit enables what the flesh cannot do. He gives strength to the weary heart and purity to the willing soul (Galatians 5:16).
The church must speak truth, but always with tears in its eyes. Christ came full of grace and truth (John 1:14), never one without the other. To follow Him means holding both firmly—standing with Scripture and kneeling beside the sinner.
Bryan Dewayne Dunaway
