I'm not into politics. I love people. All people. I believe that Jesus Christ came in the flesh and established the Kingdom of God...here....on this earth....right now, active. He did that so that we could all be reconciled to the Father and be at peace with our maker....come what may. I accept the Lordship of Jesus and am willing to partake of His suffering since I'm trapped here for the time being until he comes again.
So....what I would like to see happen....concerning (what i believe to be) the sin of same sex relations...is this.....
It's JUST a sin. It's not BIGGER than any other sin. We have MANY laws which give rights and privileges to those who sin. The sin of homosexual sex is no worse than the sin of adultery, fornication (same thing, pretty much since we don't let them marry), divorce, drunkenness, gluttony, gossip, masturbation(??), did I mention adultery and fornication?, neglecting children, addictions of all stripes. materialism.....etc., etc.,
The thing is....I am trapped in sinful nature and only Jesus can cleanse me of the things I commit within that nature. He doesn't cleanse me so that I get my ticket to heaven and avoid hell. I could care less about that. I rarely ever think of the afterlife. I don't find it to be a major concern in the book of ACTS, which is our model for going about and converting folks to the way of Christ. I want to serve Christ and I've committed my life to Christ....because of CHRIST. He's just so awesome. His ways complete me and fulfill me in a way that I can scarcely describe. I have determined that I will give up EVERYTHING for Him. Even if it means I am not complete physically or emotionally in this life.....I will put all of that aside so that I can draw closer to Him and His holiness. He is THAT good. It's crazy. I know.
I also trust Him enough to be able to LOVE my gay brothers and sisters.....really LOVE them....and not condemn them. I want them to have rights, freedoms, privileges....just as I do. I'm not sure where God will lead them when they come into relationship with Him. That's not my business. But.....I'm not going to go about trying to screw up their lives here in order to try and "save" them. I will continue to love and honor them as individuals. Their "sin" (in my opinion it's sin) is no worse than my sin. I will continue to extend grace just as grace continues to be extended to me. I am chief of sinners.
This is why I refuse to get involved in political arguments here on my blog. My goodness....if Jesus and the disciples had "gone political" we'd probably still be trying the case of Christ to this day. Jesus let all that politcal stuff just play out as it was....and....in the end, it proved His point completely. His kingdom is spiritual. Jesus is Lord.
grace
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5 comments:
I'm confused Grace (and I really am being honest here). Is what you're saying that there are no degrees of sin? That a brutal murder is just as evil in God's eyes as a white lie, or a silly prank gone wrong?
I realize that acting in violation any of God's commandments is a sin, but I cannot accept that all sins are equally grievous to Him. It seems like fornication is a lesser sin than adultery (for example), because an adulterer is not merely violating a commandment, he's breaking a vow to his (or her) spouse and causing that person unimaginable grief as well.
I won't profess to know where on the list homosexuality resides - like all things I expect it is a variable scale anyway that takes into account age/maturity, intent, nature of the sin itself, repeat offenses, etc.
What I'm saying is that Jesus died and redeemed us all the same. He didn't die "harder" for the murderer than the town gossip. Jesus did reference "degrees" of sin a bit when He spoke of the woman who was washing his feet loving much because she'd been forgiven of so much. We don't know what her specific sins were, though, just that she was apparently pretty deep into sin which made her all the more grateful for her redemption.
Yes, here in this life, and as long as we are bound by sin, there are degrees because of the very things you stated. The grief and pain caused to others being the worst. And yeah, we need laws against many sins, like murder. But even a convicted murderer can get married in prison as long as he's marrying a woman. What's up with that? That's all I'm saying.
You're right...I've been hurt horribly by the sin of homosexuality. I've responded in sinful ways at time because of my own pain and done hurtful things back to Tdub. But, because of God's infinate grace, there's no record of those wrongs we've committed against one another because we are redeemed by one Savior who paid the penalty for all of it.
Grace,
My first time to comment, but I really enjoy reading your posts. Very thoughtful, insightful, and from the heart.
I completely agree with your premise that sin is sin, and I hate when Christians individually or the church as a whole feels that they/it must treat one particular sin differently.
I also agree with you about politics. I felt the recent display from the past week or two was politics at its ugliest -- taking a volatile issue and using it to garner votes.
However, what I don't see as just "politics" is the issue of same-sex marriage. Well, at least not as how we're discussing it here. I honestly have no problem with giving a same-sex couple the same rights and benefits (medical, inhertiance, etc.) that a hetero couple enjoys. And if that's the only implication of this debate/issue, I'd say let it be done. But I don't think it is. I don't want to sound like James Dobson, whom I don't like, but I believe if states allow or acknowledge same-sex marriages, why won't homosexuality be taught as an acceptable norm in the schools? And I won't continue to ramble and create a debate that you didn't intend, but for me, that's not what I want.
So all that to say, I agree with almost all you said, but I think some of it is more than "just politics."
I agree with you completely, from personal experience.
Anonymous: Thanks for reading and your affirming words and spirit. Thanks also for sparking my thinking. I'm going to write a post about your question about teaching homosexuality in the schools. :)
Samiya: I spent some time reading your blog this afternoon. I look forward to hearing more from you and interacting with you there as well.
love,
grace
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