Boy - shower time is a good time to think sometimes huh? Maybe it's where God pretty much has my attention consistently, without any additional input dulling my senses. This morning I was mulling over the issue of homosexuality in the church.
This mornings ponderings stem from the fact that I am friends and acquaintances with quite a few active and non-active homosexual men and women - both in and out of the church. Sometimes I wonder what hackles rise on the necks of people I've recently met when I describe my walk of faith to Atlanta. I know many people immediately put me in the Bible thumper/judge-all-you-do category. While I admit to judging people when I should not, this is strictly a flesh action, not something from the Holy Spirit of God.
As I was mulling possible reactions to the sharing of my faith walk with some new folk recently, I began to think of my friends and acquaintances who deal with or are homosexual. They are great people and snotty people; warm and kind, and cold and unfeeling; generous and stingy. In short -they are just like the rest of us. Jesus befriended everyone. He didn't come to condemn the world but to set it free. John 3:17 No, I don’t believe homosexuality is God's desire for us, and no, I don't believe people are "born" that way and cannot be set free. But I do believe there are deep roots, some stemming back to birth and even in the womb, and I do believe that the feelings and desires are absolutely real, and rather undeniable for most. We live in a "fallen" world, which simply means, the world is full of sin and the consequences of sin - we see it daily. But God restores that which is taken from us (I’m still looking for the verse reference there – can’t remember it), and I believe that God-given emotional and sexual desires are what have been taken in the case of homosexuality.
So….how does that relate to me? Most Christians or conservatives talk like homosexuality is this big horrible sin. Let me remind us all that God sees ALL sin the same – from the little white lie, to jealousy, to pride in our hearts, to homosexuality. God said that ALL sin is the same and He cannot look on ANY of it. Only through His grace and goodness can we come to God, and this is only done through Jesus Christ. John 3:16, 17
So, if we are to love and accept each other as Jesus did, realizing that we all are sinning in one form or another, what about the issue of homosexuals in the church? How is it that the church (the church is people, not a building) is willing to condemn and finger point and kick out the part of the body (body is also the people of the church) that is sinning through homosexuality, but willing to overlook the parts of the body sinning in other ways – overeating, pride, criticism, etc. As I’m thinking about it, the church (again, the people, not the building or even just the clergy, but the PEOPLE) are supposed to be holding each other accountable for the sin in our lives, not glossing over it and making it seem ok because we have our own sin we deal with and do not want to be held accountable for. So do I think the church should embrace and accept homosexuality? Absolutely not! 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that the Word of God is to b e used for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. We are given proper ways to approach and rebuke a fellow church member who is in the midst of sinning, and when they repent, proper ways to encourage them back to growth. This means ANY kind of sin. And if they do not repent, there are proper ways to continue to approach, and ultimately, if no repentance is evident, to remove them from the church body. Timothy 1 and 2 are both full of these instructions, but very rarely have I seen them demonstrated in the church. I look at my own issue with overeating and the gluttony, pride and lack of trust that it shows in my life, and wonder why none of my brothers and sisters have come to rebuke me, then love and encourage me back to right relationship with God.
I believe that we all have many issues of sin to deal with – some very evident, some easily hidden, and that we should not throw the stones we don’t wish to be hit with. Jesus said, Why do you try to remove the speck in your neighbor’s eye, when there is a plank in your own? Matthew 7:1-5 and Luke 6:41, 42 I pray that we will continue to pray for deliverance from sin – for us and our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, AND for those we come into contact with who have not yet met Jesus and experienced His transforming power. Jesus took Saul, a soldier who was actively slaying Christians for their faith, and turned him 180*, gave him a new name, Paul, and sent him off to share the good news of Jesus Christ to others! If God can turn someone who is actively against Him, to someone who is actively FOR him, think what God can do in us. You can read about Saul and his conversion experience in Acts 9 – start at the beginning of the chapter.
Blessings to you all. I pray that we will encourage one another in our walks with Christ Jesus, and share the love of Jesus through our actions with everyone we come into contact with.
