Is There Sex in the Afterlife?

I I

was thinking about the very end of the movie Titanic, the part where Rose, after her death at age 101, I think, reconnects with her true love in the afterlife. That was a nice happy end-

ing and all. But I thought about how it was mentioned that Rose, after

her young lover died in the Titanic incident, had eventually married someone else. Possibly, considering she lived to be over a hundred years old, she may have even had more than one marriage. So one might question if that might create some problems in the afterlife; you know, if whatever husbands she may have spent the majority of her earthly years with might want to hang out with her in the afterlife too. n my mind, the answer would definitely be-- no, this situation would not be problematic. And I actually even have some biblical basis for my opinion. Matthew 22:29-30 (The Living

Bible) But Jesus said, your error is caused by your ignorance of the marriage: everyone is as the angels in heaven.

Scriptures and of Gods power! For in the resurrection there is no

esus seems a bit irritated, like those asking the question (see vs 2428) should not be so clueless as to make the assumption that heavenly relationships are the same as earthly relationships. And it

would make sense that if there is no marriage and no sex in heaven, be no insecurity and no jealousy. There would be no need for love to

and if everyone feels completely loved and accepted, then there would be exclusive and limited. All beings would be completely connected in

the Love of God. here is a certain kind of love on earth that has to be limited. The limits are needed because of imperfection. But in heaven, love is not limited and not imperfect. In another way of look-

ing at it, its like the Old Covenant vs the New Covenant. Its about

growing in maturity.

hen an individual or the human race in general is immature, there is a need for rules to govern behavior. But as maturity is attained, the moral code is internalized.

Rules are less necessary. People make good choices because they want

to. The law is written on their hearts. ut there is a level of perfection that goes beyond even this. For example, with romantic/sexual love: at the lowest and most immature level, people act on impulse, with no restraint, us-

ing and exploiting each other. There is little empathy and caring, very little real connection. I think many people in our society are living at this very basic level. Because people act from their own wounds and insecurities and tend to have such a heavy load of emotional baggage related to sex and love, there is too much fear to allow for trust and emotional intimacy. And the only way many people even enjoy sex at all is to disconnect it from love and intimacy and turn it into something that is just physical, very limited, imperfect, impersonal, and lonely.

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ith the second level of moral development, rules are imposed to protect the vulnerable, to develop a structure that is somewhat more conducive to trust, security, and

intimacy. In general, humans are happier with the level of rules than bellious and struggle, always fighting against the rules.

with the most primitive level. But this is still imperfect. People are re-

ut when romantic/sexual love is in tune with the highest level

of moral development, it exists within a relationship where the rules are written on the hearts. There is no struggling

against the rules. People are faithful because they desire to be. People feel completely loved and secure. There is extreme intimacy, a feeling of completeness in sex. till, even at the highest level of perfection that human romantic love can ever hope to achieve, this picture of beauty and perfection is only a dim shadow of the kind of love that we can exper-

ience with God. Even on earth, we can grow closer and closer to God.

He desires to connect with us with extreme love and intimacy. The level of intimacy with God, the magnitude of what we can achieve, the miracles that can be accomplished through us these things are limited, but only by our own reluctance to step out, take risks, be committed. We can be free of all the hindrances, free to live in joy, excitement,

beauty even in difficult circumstances.

his extreme intimacy/completeness, love without limits begins on earth and reaches full perfection in heaven. So, is there sex and romantic love in heaven? I would say no. Does that feel

like a disappointing concept to consider? Probably it does, but its a kind of disappointment that looks something like this: Picture yourself as a child arriving at an amusement part. You are so excited about riding the merry go round, but when you get to the place where it is supposed to be, you find that it is gone. And right at that moment you feel disappointed. But then you find out it has been replaced by a ride involving live horses that fly up into the sky and take you to see beautiful, exciting places and to experience new joys that are so in-

credibly wonderful that well, how could you possibly even imagine

that you would miss the old merry go round? he love we experience on earth with each other is an awesome gift, but it is only a taste, a tiny glimpse into what is available to us as we keep seeking, renewing our minds (Romans 12:2)

and delighting ourselves in the Lord (Psalm 37:4). RoseDQ (July 3rd, 2009)