The Longer Plan

As the Apostle Paul opens up this brief section of Scripture about same sex sexual relationships (Romans 1:26-27), it seems that the Garden of Genesis cast its shadow over the words penned on the page.  The Garden is where it all begins.  Even if we do not regard the Garden story as one to be taken literally, it still speaks an important Word about the origin and the beginning of each one like us.  As it was then, so is it now.  As the Word speaks of Adam bearing the imprint of the Holy, so is it true of each one of us.    

When we allow the Garden story to be a part of the context of the creation of each one of us, we begin to understand that it reveals something important about our original human nature as well as the divine intention.  Instead of being riddled with sinfulness, original human nature was and is overflowing with the goodness of God.   What is also seen within the words of the story is the divine intention which accompanied the beginning.  The divine intention is found within the words, "male and female He created them,"  (Genesis 1:27) and another word which says, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep it."  (Genesis 2:15)  

The original intention of the Creator for the created creatures was to care for the creation and to be involved in sustaining its life.  American religious history has within its pages the story of the Shakers, a group that believed in and practiced celibacy.  Their history was short lived.  If same sex sexual relationships were carried to their logical conclusion, the history of humanity would have only another hundred or so years.  God has a different plan, a longer plan.