Homophobia

So, there I am sitting in Seattle, in the Matador, as my second daughter is waiting on us.  Facing me, in a booth diagonal from me is the young married couple I mention yesterday.  Directly next to me is two guys holding hands across the table.  Yeah, I know what love looks like on other's faces, they were.

Unlike the majority of Christians I run into, my masculinity is not challenged by two guys, much less two women, displaying any of the typical courtship or in "love" displays of affection.  To such a point that for most of my life I end up being labelled "gay" myself - because I take a Biblical stand on the issue.

But, you know, even using the Bible you can not get most Christians to listen - because I wield such device, in such a way, as to show them their own hypocrisy.

In Thoughts From The Little Apple, I have talked about Romans 1 in the past, so not going to rehash it here...

Paul lays out his argue on the existance of sin: we live in a broken creation and all that we know and see is broken.  Any person, apart from God, ie: the natural man, is going to live his life in a prescribed manner and it will always follow the same course on the highway of sin.  Please do read Romans 1, so you can see this.

So, I can sit and I can look upon these two guys, not in contempt, but in the knowledge that they have run the gambit of their sin against God.  And God, in His frustration at their refusal to hear His voice - has turned them over to a depraved mind.  The final destination on the road Paul wrote about is, homosexuality.

But, before anyone gets on their high horse and starts condemning anyone - homosexuality is never listed by itself in the Bible.  No it comes with all of the other sexual sins attached in nearby verses.  So since all sin is equal before God, one sex act is no different than another, apart from being prescribed by God.  So, if you are feeling haughty, just tell me about how sexually pure your mind is and put the tar and feathers away.

These two young men do not represent the atrocity of a broken world, so much as the condemnation of God upon a self satisfying culture in which we live!  These two men should have been reached out to decades ago!  And someone(s) failed in their duties as a Christian in this corrupt culture.

Of course, I have to live in one of the hotspots in America at this time on this subject, so it is far more prevalent here than probably around your homes.  But, I think back to my visit last year to a pseudo-Bavarian setting and just the abundance of "gay" Germans there!  I was sure surprised.  Such a thing would never have occurred around my small pig raising community in the Pfaltz!

So, what should be your response when confronted/reminded of this open acceptance of this lifestyle?  Prayer.  Prayer for God to change and regenerate their hearts.  Prayer for this nation, and then, culture to once again find God and replace Him on the throne of self we worship.

And should you have "gay" friends, as I do?  Well, be normal around them.  You do not have to accept their sin to treat them as human beings and to quietly (not judgmentally) witness to them.  As they say, "Love the sinner, not the sin."  Which can be hard if you eyes are not seeing what God is seeing, if your heart is not desiring what God is desiring.

When all is said and done, God loved you as a sinner just as much as any other sinner on the face of this planet, we are all equal in his sight, we all have the same ability to withdraw from our sin, repent of them and move on - but now as a Christian!

You live in a broken world, you are broken, I am broken, everyone and everything has been broken.  But, it can be won back from Satan and it can be used for God's good.  Remember, the task of representing Jesus and  God on this planet has been given to you.  The only face of God either of those two young men will ever see may well be mine or yours.  Neither of us can afford to drive anyone further from God's Grace than they already are - our assignment is bring them to confession and make disciples of them.