I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.
Luke 5:32
As Christians, it is our highest purpose and greatest responsibility to display Christ's love here on earth. He is our model for action on every level since He, as both God and man, was the only person able to ever fulfill God's standard of righteousness. Through coming to faith in Him, I have the standing of being right with God without having the actual ability to be perfectly righteous, as Jesus was. It's through God's grace that I can be His child. Not through anything that I have done besides confess Jesus as my own.
The hard part about being a Christian, to me, is walking out my faith in today's world. I take my faith seriously. I want to share it. I want others to love God as I do. Not because of some domineering reason but because I have tasted and seen God's goodness and genuinely believe that a relationship with Him is the best way to have a fulfilled, whole life. In this sense, I view truth as extremely black and white. A relationship with Christ is what is needed for true life in this world and for eternal life in the next.
Period.
Others don't believe this. That is plain to see. The fact that America is no longer a "Christian" nation is a fact so old that I'm surprised that people are somehow shocked by this. That Christianity is being attacked more heavily in recent days is also very obvious. I can feel the hatred directed toward anything having to do with the biblical concept of God and especially even the name Jesus. As an idealist, I could be paralyzed, angered, disturbed, or frightened by this (as I have been at different times), and I could dig in a trench and parrot my (true) black and white views and demand that everyone else see the world the way I do OR ELSE...
But...
Looking at everything that Jesus did, who He was, I simply can't do that.
That's not what He did.
Jesus was completely perfect and sinless. He is fully God. Fully in the right. He had every right to stay in heaven and leave man to their sinful selves. He even had the right to destroy the earth the second the first sin was committed. But that's not what happened. From the foundations of the world, the plan was that Jesus was going to come down into this messy, disgusting world in order to redeem it.
He was inherently misunderstood. The religious rulers who should have been able to pinpoint every prophecy speaking of Him from their sacred texts were the very ones who believed he was a blasphemer, who believed He was sinful because he was too close to those they considered "less than" - the prostitutes, the thieving tax collectors, the adulterers. Jesus spent His time speaking the gospel largely to the most unlikely people who, in turn accepted Him, moved by the love He showed that made them beautiful. The ones who had a price on His head were the ones saying long elaborate prayers in the streets, showing off their piety for all to see.
Jesus said, "I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32) and "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you" (Matthew 21:31).
He ultimately died because He got involved in this world and its messiness. He didn't compromise one ounce of His righteousness to hug, heal, and associate with sinners. He confirmed the glory of who God truly is. Not some distant father who WANTS to fry everyone's shorts. The Bible states that Jesus is the express image of God the father. He displays what God is truly like.
The glory of God, his pure righteousness and pure love and pure grace mingled together, is what makes Him worthy of worship. This is what Jesus's life, death, and resurrection showed.
In many political issues, I find myself pulled in two different directions. To those who believe, it often seems as if I'm caught up too much in shades of gray. To those who don't believe, my views are not relativistic and thus do not suit them. I'm not too concerned with what either side thinks of me, to be honest. I want my life and behavior to line up with scripture, and I want my behavior to be a copy of Jesus.
I ask myself the hard questions every day. Would Jesus be more outspoken about homosexuality than I am? Would he be disgusted that I often argue on the side of gay rights and transgenderism simply because I feel that, in the Christian community, they have no advocates? Where are the Christians concerned with sharing God's love to them. Why is there so much disgust and hatred toward this group when, according to my Bible, we've all sinned and fallen short of God's glory (Romans 3:23)?
I really have no exact precedent in the Bible for how Jesus would treat these issues. But I know that he did reach out to the Samaritan woman at the well who had had five husbands and was living with someone who was not her husband. He didn't start tearing into her. He acknowledged the wrong of her situation, but then he engaged her in a conversation about worship. And she went away from that well a changed woman who ended up evangelizing her entire city simply because of the love and insight He had shown her.
Jesus was the one that stood between an angry mob ready to stone an adulteress caught in the act. According to the Old Testament law, God's standard, she was guilty and should be stoned. But did Jesus say, "Sure, you guys are technically right on this. Go ahead and kill her?" No. He wrote words in the dust (much speculated over), and told the one without sin to cast the first stone. Did that woman die? Nope. Did Jesus excuse her sin? Nope. He told her to go and sin no more. I can only guess that his grace and protection fused with truth caused a transformation in her life.
So if Jesus walked into a bathroom with a transgender person, I really can't see Him acting disgusted. He knows all of us. All of our sins, imperfections, hang ups. Everything. I can honestly see Him engaging that person for His kingdom - wherever their need is. Obviously, a bathroom is not a great conversation area, but you get my drift.
Politics aside, the actual people who make up the gay, lesbian, and transgender community are not going to see the beauty of the gospel until they see it in the eyes of a Jesus-follower who cares more about a soul (that does not understand the truth about the fierce, impassioned love that God has for all people) than about a label (given falsely by a society that also doesn't understand the depths of his love).
The hard part about being a Christian, to me, is walking out my faith in today's world. I take my faith seriously. I want to share it. I want others to love God as I do. Not because of some domineering reason but because I have tasted and seen God's goodness and genuinely believe that a relationship with Him is the best way to have a fulfilled, whole life. In this sense, I view truth as extremely black and white. A relationship with Christ is what is needed for true life in this world and for eternal life in the next.
Period.
Others don't believe this. That is plain to see. The fact that America is no longer a "Christian" nation is a fact so old that I'm surprised that people are somehow shocked by this. That Christianity is being attacked more heavily in recent days is also very obvious. I can feel the hatred directed toward anything having to do with the biblical concept of God and especially even the name Jesus. As an idealist, I could be paralyzed, angered, disturbed, or frightened by this (as I have been at different times), and I could dig in a trench and parrot my (true) black and white views and demand that everyone else see the world the way I do OR ELSE...
But...
Looking at everything that Jesus did, who He was, I simply can't do that.
That's not what He did.
Jesus was completely perfect and sinless. He is fully God. Fully in the right. He had every right to stay in heaven and leave man to their sinful selves. He even had the right to destroy the earth the second the first sin was committed. But that's not what happened. From the foundations of the world, the plan was that Jesus was going to come down into this messy, disgusting world in order to redeem it.
He was inherently misunderstood. The religious rulers who should have been able to pinpoint every prophecy speaking of Him from their sacred texts were the very ones who believed he was a blasphemer, who believed He was sinful because he was too close to those they considered "less than" - the prostitutes, the thieving tax collectors, the adulterers. Jesus spent His time speaking the gospel largely to the most unlikely people who, in turn accepted Him, moved by the love He showed that made them beautiful. The ones who had a price on His head were the ones saying long elaborate prayers in the streets, showing off their piety for all to see.
Jesus said, "I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32) and "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you" (Matthew 21:31).
He ultimately died because He got involved in this world and its messiness. He didn't compromise one ounce of His righteousness to hug, heal, and associate with sinners. He confirmed the glory of who God truly is. Not some distant father who WANTS to fry everyone's shorts. The Bible states that Jesus is the express image of God the father. He displays what God is truly like.
The glory of God, his pure righteousness and pure love and pure grace mingled together, is what makes Him worthy of worship. This is what Jesus's life, death, and resurrection showed.
In many political issues, I find myself pulled in two different directions. To those who believe, it often seems as if I'm caught up too much in shades of gray. To those who don't believe, my views are not relativistic and thus do not suit them. I'm not too concerned with what either side thinks of me, to be honest. I want my life and behavior to line up with scripture, and I want my behavior to be a copy of Jesus.
I ask myself the hard questions every day. Would Jesus be more outspoken about homosexuality than I am? Would he be disgusted that I often argue on the side of gay rights and transgenderism simply because I feel that, in the Christian community, they have no advocates? Where are the Christians concerned with sharing God's love to them. Why is there so much disgust and hatred toward this group when, according to my Bible, we've all sinned and fallen short of God's glory (Romans 3:23)?
I really have no exact precedent in the Bible for how Jesus would treat these issues. But I know that he did reach out to the Samaritan woman at the well who had had five husbands and was living with someone who was not her husband. He didn't start tearing into her. He acknowledged the wrong of her situation, but then he engaged her in a conversation about worship. And she went away from that well a changed woman who ended up evangelizing her entire city simply because of the love and insight He had shown her.
Jesus was the one that stood between an angry mob ready to stone an adulteress caught in the act. According to the Old Testament law, God's standard, she was guilty and should be stoned. But did Jesus say, "Sure, you guys are technically right on this. Go ahead and kill her?" No. He wrote words in the dust (much speculated over), and told the one without sin to cast the first stone. Did that woman die? Nope. Did Jesus excuse her sin? Nope. He told her to go and sin no more. I can only guess that his grace and protection fused with truth caused a transformation in her life.
So if Jesus walked into a bathroom with a transgender person, I really can't see Him acting disgusted. He knows all of us. All of our sins, imperfections, hang ups. Everything. I can honestly see Him engaging that person for His kingdom - wherever their need is. Obviously, a bathroom is not a great conversation area, but you get my drift.
Politics aside, the actual people who make up the gay, lesbian, and transgender community are not going to see the beauty of the gospel until they see it in the eyes of a Jesus-follower who cares more about a soul (that does not understand the truth about the fierce, impassioned love that God has for all people) than about a label (given falsely by a society that also doesn't understand the depths of his love).
In good conscience, I believe the best thing I can do is treat everyone I meet, no matter their labels, as a fellow traveler in need of God's grace. If this means abandoning politics or angering people who want to raise the mote and live with a sense of superiority, then I guess that's what I'm going to have to do. I'm trying to live for an audience of one.
Again, walking this narrow, narrow road, I still feel uncomfortable and
can only pray that God is pleased, or at the very least not extremely
offended. Am I denying the lordship of Jesus in this? Am I excusing
people's sins? God, after all, does love people enough to have tough
love. Am I becoming morally relativistic? Shouldn't I be loudly and
proudly affirming that sin is sin? I still believe God's plan for
marriage is the way marriage works best and is what pleases Him, but,
frankly, I feel that the LGBT community pretty much understands that Christians believe that at this point.
An experience I treasure is when a coworker came out to me, stating that she didn't want to tell many other people at work but that she felt comfortable telling me because she knew I wouldn't start treating her differently. She knew all about my convictions and beliefs. We'd had tons of conversations about faith by that point. I felt honored that she felt being authentic with me was safe. I'd like to think that, at some point, that sense of safety she felt would also be connected to Jesus.
Because He's the one who loves us the way we are - too much to leave us that way.
[Disclaimer: If I, in any way, sound like I think I have anything together about this issue or life, then 1) I failed in what I was trying to convey in this post, so 2) please realize I am a wreck still trying to live life day to day and have absolutely nothing together. 3) Whatever I might happen to have together is because God rearranged it into being into a semblance of not being a crappy mess. 4) If I am in serious error, I apologize to God because I am not trying to misrepresent Him in any way.]
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