Read Clint Decker’s June HOPE FOR TODAY column here or on the blog site.
June is the one year anniversary of the historic Supreme Court order to make same-sex marriage legal in the United States. When we strip away the courtrooms, activist organizations and verbal arguments back and forth there are people at the heart of this decision. Precious people, who are made in the image of God with priceless eternal souls.
The two main groups of people caught in all this are Christians and homosexuals. I am in the Christian group and want to say two things to my neighbors and fellow citizens who are homosexuals. First, as a follower of Jesus, I want to apologize on behalf of other believers who may have rejected and cursed you or talked to you with an attitude of self-righteousness. They were wrong. No excuses. I hope you can forgive them for their foolishness. Second, I want to say with deep sincerity, God loves you. He loves every lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and questioning person.
Though less than 5% of our nation is practicing homosexuals, a super-majority are talking about this issue and many with deep-seated convictions. This puts the LGBTQ community under the microscope, whether they want to be or not. No doubt, with the positive coverage this movement has received over the last year, their numbers are likely growing. Yet, with this affirming culture fostering a sense of freedom to explore one’s sexuality, there can be a downside. It can produce a sense of inner confusion and doubt.
Our Creator made us in His image, which means we were born with a natural instinct to seek and know Him. However, we also were born with an inclination to live our lives our own way rather than God’s way. This attitude, in effect, leads to inner guilt and shame producing a lack of peace, spiritual restlessness and inner turmoil. It is the predictable effect of going against what we were made for.
Homosexuality is a lifestyle that has been around for over 5,000 years of human history. It also goes against God’s design. For countless millennia God has been calling men and women out of this practice and giving them transformed lives. He sent His Son Jesus to suffer, die and rise again to give them a new identity. Not an identity based on gender or sexual practice, but one based on the person of Jesus Christ. The Scripture says, “. . . if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God” (2 Corinthians 5:17-18). When a person surrenders their life wholly to Jesus, in turn they receive the purity, beauty and perfection of the Son of God poured into them. Today, you have a choice. Change your identity. Turn to Jesus and let Him give you a new heart, new mind and a new future.
