Everybody's Talking About Gay Marriage...

And I'll be honest - I've a  little bit had it with the whole thing... both sides. 

I'll preface by saying this, so I get out immediately where my stance is on the subject (as if it matters, it's really just so that I've made it clear as I progress through the blog).  I am a Christian, and to have any other stance than to say anything besides that I am against homosexuality (in all forms, regardless of whether those participating are 'married' or not) would be to go against the very faith that I profess.  Period.  If you are a Christian in support of homosexuality (again, in any form) I ask you to go read your Bible and pray that God would remove the scales from your eyes.  I don't mean that to sound harsh.  I mean to say that our faith is not a buffet.  We can't choose the 'get out of hell - yay Jesus saves" stuff - and deny all of the guidelines He has set forth to allow us to better serve and follow Him.
(need some scripture? Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11 is my favorite.  It shows us that God pulls people out of their sin, sin that most of us were in before Christ.  We seem to often forget that.)

Now - if you are still reading, and not fuming at this point, let's get down to the nitty gritty.

As Christians I think we are missing it HUGE in this whole spectrum of what our role in this 'gay rights' debate looks like.  Let's look at a few things here:

A.) One thing we must be very clear on is that we can (and should!) hold Christians to Biblical standards.  (Galatians 6:1-2, or visit the link here for a good bit of info on accountability in the church.) There is plenty of scripture that says that if you profess to be in Christ, that other Christians have a duty in love to affirm that and hold you accountable.  Whether that means approaching,  in love, a Christian brother or sister who is struggling with gluttony, an affair, or homosexuality, we are not called to allow or encourage or brother / sister to sit in their sin.  Period.

If a person is not a Christian, why then are we surprised that there is sin in their lives? Why are we surprised that they don't understand our point of view?  Why are we surprised that they have no desire to be or live in a different manner?  The problem, friends, is not with a specific sin in which they struggle, the problem is that the person is lost.  SHOULD THIS NOT BE OUR GREATEST CONCERN?  For the love of God is available to all who will hear it, and quite frankly, if I were lost and all someone wanted to do was attack the sin in my life but never showed me the Gospel in love, it would be of no interest to me.

Friends - I urge you to see this... the problem we have is a heart problem, a flesh problem, and for those of us who are Christians, it is a problem in which we all suffered.

Which brings me to point B.

B.) The Gospel - the sacrifice and love of Jesus Christ, our great Savior - HE is the redeemer.  Not the governing laws of this land, or any land for that matter.  Regardless the decision made, sin is still sin.  If we all were to rally together holding our big ugly signs with lame, tasteless jabs plastered all over them, and somehow win this 'battle' - though not in love, it does nothing to deal with the heart issue at hand.  Whether homosexuals are married or not, the sin is the same.  The marriage is not a marriage as approved by in God's eyes... but read through the Old Testament and you'll see most 'marriage' acts are performed in the bedroom.  How many of us heterosexuals have our own sin buried in that department?  Thank God for grace and love and compassion and forgiveness.  That is the redeeming force here.

I urge you - sisters and brothers - in supporting your faith and standing firmly on not only the promises, but the convictions, that come along with it, let us remember that the things of God are foolishness to those who are not believers, and that is our  biggest hurdle, the fact that they are not believers, not the sin in which they struggle.  God has promised to forgive and redeem of sin.  Let's not forget to be Kingdom minded in what we are fighting for.  Let's pray for souls and for the Gospel to be advanced more than we fight for our political agenda.

-a