If we grasped the concept of healthy sexuality, how would it change our sex lives?  Our spiritual lives?  Our marriages?  Our family dynamics?  Could we learn to see sexuality as the tremendous gift that God surely intended?  Would we be inspired to give God all the more thanks and praise in our daily lives?  Would we experience even more passion and pleasure as we fully allow ourselves to get caught up in the rapturous experience of fully loving and affirming one another?

I believe all of that is possible, and more.  And instead of sounding like any of the individuals previously mentioned, perhaps you’ll begin to sound a lot more like:

• Cindi, who declared publicly in her Sunday school class, “I love the fact that my husband is a wonderful spiritual leader, provider, and father, but what I really love most about Jeff is that he’s a great lover!”
• Nick, who stated with tears in his eyes in a recent coaching session, “The highlight of my day is coming home to my wife.  To me, she just oozes sex appeal, and it’s so easy to forget all of my problems from work and get lost in her love for me.”
• Ruth, who was asked by a nurse if she’d like a one-year’s supply of free condoms.  When she responded positively, the nurse asked how many she’d need exactly.  Ruth stated matter-of-factly, “Three hundred and sixty-five!”

To be held in high regard as a “great lover,” to feel “lost in one another,” to assume that you can be sexually intimate with your spouse on any given day that you desire without fear of rejection

. . . Wow!  Who doesn’t want that?

So enjoy the journey of exploring the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical dimensions of our sexuality, celebrating the many freedoms that Christians have in the marriage bed, and learn to incorporate these passion principles into our relationships so that we can enjoy this gift to the fullest!

Ponder the Principle:

• What kind of “sex-negative” messages have you received in life? What was the source of such messages, and in hindsight, how reliable was that source or the information they provided?
• Are you ready to reject any view of sexuality that doesn’t measure up to the passionate, pleasurable acts of intimacy that God intended for married couples to enjoy? Why or why not?

Excerpted from  The Passion Principles: Celebrating Sexual Freedom in Marriage  by Shannon Ethridge. Copyright 2013.  All Rights Reserved. Published by W Publishing Group, and imprint of Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN. Used by Permission. Not to be copied without Publisher’s prior written approval.