The 2nd part of "We have hope in Jesus"

When the pursued get Chaste

Consider for a moment a different type of couple; a man who exercises self-control in his dating relationships and a women who holds out for only such a man. Refusing to ever allow their bodies to lead their souls, they take to heart the words of scripture: "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control" (2 Timothy 1:7) They put God first, each other second and their own "needs" a very distant third.

Can this be done? To live chastely as a single young adult in the twenty first century is difficult, but very possible. Co-workers may mock them and friends may misunderstand them and hardly anyone will believe them, but early in courtship, from the very first date, they will have set their plan: to guard and honor chastity. In short, they are guarding their salvation.

They pledge to mutually protect their own chastity and the chastity of the other. They walk this narrow road together, finding room for three on the path and inviting Jesus himself along not as a spectator or a scorekeeper, but as the one that will lead the way.

Ask yourselves these three questions, Are you single? do you live by a pledge of Chastity (this
The condition or quality of being pure or chaste either in having virginty, a virtuous character, or celibacy. Are you willing to make such a pledge? Are you willing to share this with the person that you are dating, right from the start? Even married couples are called to live chastely in marriage, using sex as God has ordained. Are you willing to live chastely in marriage? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then figure out why. what is holding you back.

Your mission is possible

Living chastely in or out of college is as difficult as any mission a young adult will ever undertake. Chastity is more than abstinence. A man who would rather die defending his wife's salvation is a man after Christ's own heart. Where Adam failed to defend and protect his wife in the garden - Eden-our savior succeeds in the Garden- Gethsemane-offering his life for us, his bride the church (Ephesians 5:25).

A women who would rather die than to compromise the salvation of her husband is a women after Mary's (The new Eve)own heart. When a couple stands before a priest of God, in the house of God, before an altar of sacrifice and they genuinely pledge their lives to God and eachother, they understand the sacrament beyond the ceremony. They offer each other far more than the "legal " sex on their marriage bed; they pledge their very selves. The wedding day is far greater than the tux and the gown, the groomsmen with bloodshot eyes, the bridesmaid in dresses, or even the honeymoon. It is offering of two lives body and soul - in complete and total selflessness. He pledges that her soul is primary, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad. She too swears to such an oath. He loves her enough to deny his own urges. She thinks enough of him to deny hers. The result: a man and women who are far from perfect but close to God.

Brothers, this is the life you are called to when you claim Christ as your Lord. What are you looking for when you head out at night ? What traits are you most drawn to in women ? Your eyes reveal your heart and your words show your motivation.

Women of God, what does this mean for you? Among other things, it means you will have a man who won't cheat on you when he takes a business trip.You will have a husband who will adore every inch of that expanding tummy in the first trimester and every strand of uncombed hair in the third. You will have a spouse who knows what it means to die to himself, a man after Christ own heart. You will have the man you noticed and made time for because you weren't wasting your time on the low bar or singles' guy's bar.

Brothers and Sisters, how do you find such a person in this modern scene that we live in ? Pray hard and keep your standards high. Review the places you go. Ponder the things you were. Look deep within yourself and decide what you want to offer to others. - Your sexuality or God's gift of Chastity.

If this kind of purity sounds out of reach to you.Your body is then leading your soul. If you have suffered abandonment, abuse or any other wounds in your past relationship or within your family, don't allow your hopes to be dashed by the burdens of the past. What is the deepest longing of your heart? Contemplate the words of the late Pope John Paul the Great:

" It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when
nothing else you find satisfies you; he is the beauty to which you are so attracted; It
is he who provokes you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for
compromise; It is he who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; It is he who reads
in your hearts your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle. It is
Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to
follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be grounded down by mediocrity, the
courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourself and
society"

All of us are God's handiwork, and we are created with a purpose. Jesus Christ changes our perspective of our sexuality by changing the way we view our purpose, which is not to seek pleasure but to bring life.

Living with Chastity is a difficult call in a world obsessed with sex and devoid of healthy affection. Take strength from the fact that many others, in every vocation, are living it successfully and joyfully. Take hope from sacred scriptures.

If you are currently dating, ask yourself: "Is this person leading me closer to or further away from Jesus Christ? If the answer is "away" stop and think. Consider if your joy and soul are worth this. Be willing to bypass the for now partner in favor of waiting for the forever partner. If you are married or feel called to the vocation of marriage, write out a sort of mission statement for yourself and your present or future spouse. List your goals and objectives for the marriage and what you consider to be the most important traits in a healthy, God -centered relationship.

Once you submit your understanding of sex to Christ, once you invite the Holy spirit into your bodily temple and let God's truth enlighten you, you'll find your soul leading your body more often.

Be God's always.