Teaching Kids What the Bible Says About Homosexuality
God’s Good Design
Parents, a question that we are getting asked more and more is, Is it okay to be attracted to the same sex? Is it okay for a boy to like another boy? Let's see if Scripture has anything to say about that.
And Scripture does. When we go to Genesis 1, we see something that's laid down in Scripture, what I call the Genesis blueprint: God created humanity in his image; God created humanity male and female; and then third and finally, God creates male and female for one another, meaning that in this design there is a complementary correspondence between the sexes. Males are made for females, females are made for males.
Now, we understand the reality of sin. We live in a Genesis 3, Romans 8 world where even our desires are fallen. And so we can have compassion and mercy for those individuals who are struggling with genuine fallen desires. But what we want to consider when looking at Scripture is that we should never go looking to affirm or approve any type of desire that falls short of God's original design.
When we think about how to evaluate our desires, I think a simple question should come to mind. The question is, Do the desires that I have right now further God's design for marriage, or are they impeding God's design for marriage?
What Do I Say When . . . ?
Andrew T. Walker, Christian Walker
In a world filled with cultural confusion, this book provides busy Christian parents with quick and trustworthy answers to questions their children may ask about life’s toughest topics, including abortion, sexuality, technology, political engagement, and more.
God's design for our sexuality is not just raw heterosexuality in itself. God's design for sexuality is marriage. And so we should be evaluating all of our desires by whether they are bringing us closer to God's design or whether they are obstructing God's design.
And if I were to talk to my nine-year-old daughter about this, I would start with talking about God’s authority—God’s authority over his original natural plan for marriage and our world, and also his authority and his word that he’s given us.
And in his word he tells us that he created us. He created us male and female. He created our bodies. He created us differently. And in God’s good, original, and natural plan, males and females can grow up and get married and have any children that God may give them. And that answers the question, Can boys have attraction to boys? Can they marry boys? Can they have children? And the answer is no. They can’t. They don’t fit together. They don’t work together to produce children that God may give them in God’s good, natural, original plan.
We should be evaluating all of our desires by whether they are bringing us closer to God’s design or whether they are obstructing God’s design.
And so I would say to my nine-year-old, that that’s not how it works in God’s good plan of marriage. And then we’d also talk about how every sinner is in need of a Savior. And the sin of two boys trying to be together is just as sinful as any sin that we have. And we are in need of a Savior just as they are.
And so we are looking to Romans 10:9–10 to tell us that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved. And we can share the good news of Jesus with those people who need a Savior with compassion and equal measures of grace and truth.
So parents, if you have hard questions for little hearts, I would just continue to urge you to pray for them and keep looking to Scripture for the truth that God provides.
Andrew T. Walker and Christian Walker are the authors of What Do I Say When . . . ?: A Parent’s Guide to Navigating Cultural Chaos for Children and Teens.
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