In his booklet What the Bible Says—and Doesn’t Say— about Homosexuality, Mel White makes the following claim: “The Bible is a book about God, about God’s love for the world and the people of the world. It is the history of God’s love at work rescuing, renewing, empowering humankind. It was never intended to be a book about human sexuality. Certainly, you will agree.”

Respectfully, I disagree with a part of Mel’s claim. Thankfully, the Bible is a book about God and His plan to rescue and restore the world through Jesus Christ. But from Genesis forward it is also a book about human sexuality. The very first chapter of the Bible says God created human beings “in His own image” as “male and female” (Genesis 1:27).

Human sexuality begins with gender. Jesus even pointed back to this most important aspect of our sexuality, “‘Haven’t you read the Scriptures?’ Jesus replied. ‘They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female’” (Matthew 19:4). Gender isn’t an incidental footnote about humanity. The Bible isn’t saying, “Oh, by the way, the Creator God made people in His image as male and female.” Both the Old and New Testament draw attention to gender because it is foundational to the message of God’s Word.

Contrary to what some in our culture proclaim, gender isn’t a man-made social construct. Masculinity and femininity are not the result of social engineering. Gender is one of the most basic and enduring aspects of God’s design for our lives. Natural sexual attraction for the opposite sex arises out of a God-given gender identity. And the more we walk in who we are as men and women, the more we can know the joy and purpose of reflecting the strength and compassion of our Creator (Psalm 62:11-12).

 NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Acts 10:1-23