Setting the Record "Straight" Sunday, February 26, 2006 |
Greetings.
Today, for your reading pleasure, I would like to reprint an article which I wrote for the latest issue of our church newsletter. This newsletter is sent out to our many church members and supporters across America, and each month we include a youth news article, which Pastor Karel often gives me the pleasure of authoring.
This past month, Focus Youth has been looking at sexuality in two parts, firstly discussing sexual morality, and then hosting an informative talk about homosexuality and God's view of these two topics. This latter issue is one that is of very deep importance and relevance for me, as many of my closest friends will know. Feel free to comment and respond to this my point of view.
~Kelly
This February at Focus Youth, guest speaker Blayne Greiner, director of Youth Unlimited, is speaking with our youth about homosexuality and how the Bible views it. 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10 reads, in part “…Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral … nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards … will inherit the kingdom of God,” giving us clear insight to God’s truth about sexuality. However, while this might seem like a cut-and-dried point, for many kids today, it doesn’t seem so black and white. The ever-present political debate over it, and certainly the mainstreaming of homosexuality in the media, has led to a cultural acceptance of homosexuality as a legitimate lifestyle choice. And for those youth who don’t embrace that mindset, the pressure to normalize the gay lifestyle is ever-present.
These factors are definitely present in my life in a very personal way, as I have several close friends who struggle with their sexual identities, and the challenge for me has become, “how do I present my deeply held beliefs while expressing my deeply embedded love for these people?”
It’s one thing to be there for a non-Christian who struggles with his or her sexuality. It seems easy in those cases to chalk any confusion and experimentation up to the person’s need for Jesus. But what do you do when a self-proclaimed Christian won’t let go of his homosexuality? What do you do with those who have restructured their Christian world-view to include it?
This matter is one that I am currently weighing and, to be honest, am not completely sure how to respond to. I mean, I know what I have already been doing, which is to be a good friend, to give honest counsel and tell the truth, and to pray, but also to lean on the promise that God knows my friend’s heart, and that my friend is in relationship with God, as am I, and that God will be the one to cut to the heart of my friend’s misconceptions. But in the meantime, how would God have me respond?
It’s true- sometimes I feel very ill-equipped to counsel my friend. He’s struggling in his walk right now, and I truly believe that it has everything to do with the fact that he won’t surrender his sexuality, and be obedient to God, but while I try and get this across to him when we talk, ultimately, I am taking things really slow with him. I don’t come down hard, I don’t preach against him. Do I challenge him about it? Yes, and often. But as far as conviction of sin is concerned, I’m leaving room for that moment to be between him and Jesus. I think this may well be the biggest ultimatum of my friend’s life, and honestly, I am very afraid for the choice he may make- that’s why I’m praying constantly and treading lightly as I await a transformation of my friend’s heart.
I know that Jesus is up to the challenge- do you remember the guy that Jesus told to sell everything and follow Him? He went away sad, because he had great wealth, and was not willing to give it up. It just may happen that my friend may end up turning away, discouraged, because he was unwilling to give up his homosexuality, his “gay pride”, for the kingdom of God. That will be a very sad day for me. I know it will break Jesus’ heart also. But somehow Jesus does it anyways, cuts straight to the heart of the issue, the stronghold of sin, with truth that is sharper than a double-edged sword. So I’m wrapping my friend in prayer, praying that God will do just that in his life. But this time I’m praying desperately that the outcome will be different.
It occurs to me that my concerns are very different from those that many Christians face in regards to homosexuality. Many times, the church’s response to homosexuality can be very impersonal, judgmental, and even threatening. Often we lash out against the gay and lesbian community with a harsh reprimand and a complete unwillingness to engage them as people, and as searchers. Our response does not focus on their need for redemption, but only on the ugliness of their sin. And so often they are not finding Jesus.
Maybe we could negotiate a trade-off. I will try with all my heart to muster up the strength to be more like Jesus, who will go straight to the heart of what is keeping His children from Him, and will ask them to surrender it, fully aware that His heart is about to break as they turn away. He can do no less- He loves us too much for that. Meanwhile, I am not Jesus, and cannot pull this off the way He does, but if He asks me to speak hard truths, I want to be obedient and do so.
And for Christians with the tendency to come down harshly and with judgment, we should be very hesitant to do anything in God’s name if it does not come from a love for the people God created. 1 Corinthians 13 emphasizes that all that we may do, if it is without love, is absolutely worthless, devoid of value, giving no gain, leading to nothing. But more than that, I think history and common sense shows that when the church acts outside of love, things get serious. Great tragedies have occurred under the banner of our Faith, and we must make every effort to never let these things happen again.
I think it is very good that I fear so deeply my friend’s rejection of Jesus. You can’t fake that kind of brotherly love. It’s what Jesus is striving to teach us, “Love the Lord your God fiercely and with everything within you, and love your neighbor even more than you care about yourself”. And so I encourage you, also, to be hesitant to call attention to the sins that separate others from God, until you have your own heart invested in their eternity even a fraction of as much as you can bet that God’s heart is.
Today, for your reading pleasure, I would like to reprint an article which I wrote for the latest issue of our church newsletter. This newsletter is sent out to our many church members and supporters across America, and each month we include a youth news article, which Pastor Karel often gives me the pleasure of authoring.
This past month, Focus Youth has been looking at sexuality in two parts, firstly discussing sexual morality, and then hosting an informative talk about homosexuality and God's view of these two topics. This latter issue is one that is of very deep importance and relevance for me, as many of my closest friends will know. Feel free to comment and respond to this my point of view.
~Kelly
This February at Focus Youth, guest speaker Blayne Greiner, director of Youth Unlimited, is speaking with our youth about homosexuality and how the Bible views it. 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10 reads, in part “…Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral … nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards … will inherit the kingdom of God,” giving us clear insight to God’s truth about sexuality. However, while this might seem like a cut-and-dried point, for many kids today, it doesn’t seem so black and white. The ever-present political debate over it, and certainly the mainstreaming of homosexuality in the media, has led to a cultural acceptance of homosexuality as a legitimate lifestyle choice. And for those youth who don’t embrace that mindset, the pressure to normalize the gay lifestyle is ever-present.
These factors are definitely present in my life in a very personal way, as I have several close friends who struggle with their sexual identities, and the challenge for me has become, “how do I present my deeply held beliefs while expressing my deeply embedded love for these people?”
It’s one thing to be there for a non-Christian who struggles with his or her sexuality. It seems easy in those cases to chalk any confusion and experimentation up to the person’s need for Jesus. But what do you do when a self-proclaimed Christian won’t let go of his homosexuality? What do you do with those who have restructured their Christian world-view to include it?
This matter is one that I am currently weighing and, to be honest, am not completely sure how to respond to. I mean, I know what I have already been doing, which is to be a good friend, to give honest counsel and tell the truth, and to pray, but also to lean on the promise that God knows my friend’s heart, and that my friend is in relationship with God, as am I, and that God will be the one to cut to the heart of my friend’s misconceptions. But in the meantime, how would God have me respond?
It’s true- sometimes I feel very ill-equipped to counsel my friend. He’s struggling in his walk right now, and I truly believe that it has everything to do with the fact that he won’t surrender his sexuality, and be obedient to God, but while I try and get this across to him when we talk, ultimately, I am taking things really slow with him. I don’t come down hard, I don’t preach against him. Do I challenge him about it? Yes, and often. But as far as conviction of sin is concerned, I’m leaving room for that moment to be between him and Jesus. I think this may well be the biggest ultimatum of my friend’s life, and honestly, I am very afraid for the choice he may make- that’s why I’m praying constantly and treading lightly as I await a transformation of my friend’s heart.
I know that Jesus is up to the challenge- do you remember the guy that Jesus told to sell everything and follow Him? He went away sad, because he had great wealth, and was not willing to give it up. It just may happen that my friend may end up turning away, discouraged, because he was unwilling to give up his homosexuality, his “gay pride”, for the kingdom of God. That will be a very sad day for me. I know it will break Jesus’ heart also. But somehow Jesus does it anyways, cuts straight to the heart of the issue, the stronghold of sin, with truth that is sharper than a double-edged sword. So I’m wrapping my friend in prayer, praying that God will do just that in his life. But this time I’m praying desperately that the outcome will be different.
It occurs to me that my concerns are very different from those that many Christians face in regards to homosexuality. Many times, the church’s response to homosexuality can be very impersonal, judgmental, and even threatening. Often we lash out against the gay and lesbian community with a harsh reprimand and a complete unwillingness to engage them as people, and as searchers. Our response does not focus on their need for redemption, but only on the ugliness of their sin. And so often they are not finding Jesus.
Maybe we could negotiate a trade-off. I will try with all my heart to muster up the strength to be more like Jesus, who will go straight to the heart of what is keeping His children from Him, and will ask them to surrender it, fully aware that His heart is about to break as they turn away. He can do no less- He loves us too much for that. Meanwhile, I am not Jesus, and cannot pull this off the way He does, but if He asks me to speak hard truths, I want to be obedient and do so.
And for Christians with the tendency to come down harshly and with judgment, we should be very hesitant to do anything in God’s name if it does not come from a love for the people God created. 1 Corinthians 13 emphasizes that all that we may do, if it is without love, is absolutely worthless, devoid of value, giving no gain, leading to nothing. But more than that, I think history and common sense shows that when the church acts outside of love, things get serious. Great tragedies have occurred under the banner of our Faith, and we must make every effort to never let these things happen again.
I think it is very good that I fear so deeply my friend’s rejection of Jesus. You can’t fake that kind of brotherly love. It’s what Jesus is striving to teach us, “Love the Lord your God fiercely and with everything within you, and love your neighbor even more than you care about yourself”. And so I encourage you, also, to be hesitant to call attention to the sins that separate others from God, until you have your own heart invested in their eternity even a fraction of as much as you can bet that God’s heart is.
Labels: reprints, Seattle, spirituality