I have written and rewritten and rewritten this post. I am having a hard time getting it to say exactly what I feel. Maybe that is the first issue right there. I am reacting out of emotion, not out of faith. But this topic and decision hold such emotions for so many. There are such strong emotions on both sides.
Therein lies part of the problem. I don't want to choose sides. I don't want to say something that would hurt or harm people that mean a lot to me. Family members that I love. I think that is why this decision triggers such emotion. We all know someone close to us who is gay or lesbian. We can't detach and say "those" people, because these are OUR people. They are family, friends, work associates, and neighbors, people we love.
On the other hand, for me God has been working on truth in my life for the last year. Facing truth, choosing truth and wanting really hard to live a life based on truth. So, can I just turn my back on what the bible says is truth in this situation?
So, what do I know as truth?
I know that gay or straight, if we say we are Christian then one thing we surely agree on is that The Bible is true. It is the living word of God and it is truth. All of it is truth. It tells us in Revelation 22:18 that we can't add to or take anything away from the bible. As much as I would like to take a sharpie, and mark through those verses that talk about submitting to my husband, or those verses that tell me how bad my pride is, I can't. I have to take the bible at it's word. That is the first truth I know.
The second truth I know is that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, ALL my sins. That Jesus died on the cross for ALL sins. I know that John 3:16 tells me that "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son. That whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Truth is, anyone who believes in him and has accepted him as Lord will have eternal life. I believe that is truth.
The third truth I know comes from Luke 19:10. "For the Son of man came to seek and save the lost." While on earth Jesus sought out tax collectors, prostitutes, adulterers, and a Samaritan woman. At some point in our lives most of us have felt like we belonged in that group. People others shunned and avoided, but that is why Jesus came, to seek us out one by one. To build relationships that change lives. I believe that is what Jesus calls us to do. Build relationships. We can't build relationships if we harbor a spirit that condemns.
The last truth I know is that God hates sin. God hates my sin, God hates ALL sin. Never once in the bible does it say God rejoiced or embraced any sin. Psalm 5:4 says "For you are not a God who delights in wickedness, evil may not dwell with you." The complete nature of God is sinless. From the beginning, in the garden, sin separates us from God. Genesis 3:8 says "And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God." Our sins will always cause a separation between us and God. We can try and rename them, we can try to run from them, but we cannot hide them from God. The good news for us is, he is a God of mercy and grace, who stretches out his arms and offers us repentance.
My prayer is, that with this decision, we would all seek to know God and his truths better.
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