A testimony,
Love One Another! 2/2003 → True Love Waits - Pure Hearts
My name is Sophie, and I am 17 years old. My boyfriend, Ted, is three years older than I. We would like to share a great joy with you. Although we are very happy now, just a few months ago our relationship was in danger of falling apart. Jesus saved us. He turned our lives upside down, or rather put us back on our feet. Here is a brief account of our “revolution of love”.
We had known each other for a year and a half, and from the very
first days we had been enjoying the “pleasures” of
sex. As a result, we had become very familiar with our bodies,
but we did not really know each other. With no opportunity of
examining our relationship and ourselves we thought everything
was perfect between us. God was then simply an abstract concept,
with no real meaning in our lives. Then, suddenly, I experienced
a revolution in my view of love. Later Ted did too.
Encouraged by a friend at school, I took part in a youth retreat.
For the first time in my life I heard about a living God, who
freed people from sin, forgave and bestowed new life. From then
on I wanted to live without deceiving God, Ted, or myself. Ted
had not taken part in the retreat, but I wanted him to meet the
Lord. We continued to sin, giving into our desires, but during
the summer holidays we decided we would both take part in a gospel
retreat. There we both heard the Good News about the God of Love.
We also received great strength from the Holy Spirit. That was
a wonderful time for us. We wanted to live in chastity, but first
we had to ask Jesus, by the power of His love, to free us from
impure desires. We had sunk so deeply into sin, it was hard for
us to believe that He could pull us out of the mire. The process
of rescue was not easy, or without pain, but when we began earnestly
to beg Jesus’ help, He did not disappoint us.
Four months have passed. Since then we have been refraining from
sexual activity. This has not been easy, and there have been falls,
but now we have Someone, Who can lift us up when we fall. So great
is His love that He will not allow sin to take control of our
lives.
Christ loves us all, whoever we are. Filled with true love, He
is always reaching out to us. Take His hand, and do not fear His
desire to enter your relationships, in order to “wreak havoc”
there. He wants you to love one another just as He loves you.
He wants you to be happy. Do not be afraid of loving truly! Let
your body wait, so that after your wedding you may offer it unspoiled
to the person you love.
I do not believe God is an enemy of sex. He created it. Only
He is entitled to instruct us in its proper use – to say,
“do not commit adultery.” God foresaw that using this
precious gift at the wrong time and with wrong intentions would
cause harm to a person. That is why He intended sex for marriage
alone.
Ted and I are living proof of the great psychological damage
wrought by sex misused. Yet Jesus does not want us to suffer.
He wants us to be whole. He is now giving us time to solve the
problems, which we had not noticed earlier, because our eyes were
focused on sex. Above all, Jesus has given us the spirit of sacrifice.
We no longer want to treat each other as mere objects of pleasure!
We have shared this “revolution of love” with you,
in the belief that if you seek it, you will also come to enjoy
the love of God. We pray for those who are enslaved by sex, that
they will allow Jesus to enter into their lives. Let us open the
doors of our hearts to Him. He is knocking. As for those who are
living their relationships in purity, chastity and unity with
Jesus, let them not fear to give witness. Christ has need of their
lips, so that others may hear of the pure and authentic love that
can exist between a girl and a guy.
Sophie & Ted
The article was published with the permission from "Love One Another!"
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