Christianity and Same Sex Marriage

In light of the Supreme court’s decision to legalize same sex marriage in all 50 states I, like many others, felt that I should say something. I thought it would be appropriate to do so here instead of forcing myself to do it on a Facebook thread. I hope that for anyone reading this I am clear and fair and respectful. Anyway, here it goes…

TO THE CHRISTIAN: My initial reaction is one of disappointment, marriage is sacred for so many reasons, the foremost I think being that it symbolizes the covenant between ourselves and our creator. However, that is where our lament should stop. We all have our sins of choice, the sin in question may not be yours, but you still have one, probably many. (I know I do) And if we really hated sin as an affront to God then we should start where we can actually affect change, ourselves.

Biblically speaking the only difference between a Christian and a non christian is Jesus. The Christian has accepted God’s authority in their life, the non believer has not. Additionally, the only capability we have to NOT sin comes from the Holy Spirit, who only indwells believers. The non believer does not have access to the Holy Spirit. So judgement on our part for their sin is not practical. (Nor is it directly biblical. Paul says in 1 Cor. 5:12  ^“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  God will judge those outside.”) We are our brothers keepers, not the keepers of an entire demographic of sexual orientation.  If a homosexual commits to Jesus and accepts his authority in their life then there is precedent. But the precedent is patient, loving, and understanding, while still dispensing truth faithfully and firmly.

Also Christian, the United States of America is not God’s chosen nation. That was Israel. We are not God’s chosen people. Also Israel. (though this topic is mildly complicated theologically speaking but I digress) The point is America is not God’s kingdom come. God’s Kingdom is a divine monarchy (and no it’s not a theocracy. look it up) America is a Democratic republic so within the laws of the nation itself (And God has stated in Romans 13 that we’re to follow) we cannot constitutionally deny the right to decide what the definition of marriage is. We may disagree and we can vote against how the world decides to define it,but we cannot enjoy the freedoms this country offers and deny it to others simply because we disagree with it.

 

However this does not mean we should not be entitled to our beliefs. I’m simply pointing out there must be a middle ground in an imperfect world. We’re called to love and make disciples of all nations. It’s unlikely we will do this if we approach those who are different from us with pitch forks and rejection.

AS TO THE EFFECTS OF SCOTUS AND GOVERNMENT: Christians. The Bible, as well as history, has shown us the a comfortable life following Jesus is not guaranteed. In fact the opposite is more true. Maybe if we lost more privileges and rights we’d get better at being the church. America is not God’s kingdom so we should stop acting like it is.

TO THE LGBT COMMUNITY:  I don’t think I necessarily have the right words for this discourse. Most of my words will come out clumsily or just may not make sense. But I’ll try anyway and most likely look foolish.The Church has dropped the ball in how we have related to you (Mostly because we haven’t related to you at all) For this we should apologize and should take every opportunity to make amends. Jesus spent most of his ministry with those whom society rejected as outcasts. Society sucks. You’re not less of a person because of who you love. You’re not less of a person just because you don’t believe in Jesus. I wish my experiences with God were good enough to convince other people of the existence and greatness of God, but the truth is I know that isn’t the case. My experiences are just that, mine. And your experiences are your own. Though true empathy is difficult without experience. I pray that you would not feel rejected by society, that you wouldn’t need to hide, that you would know that you are loved and that you have worth. I promise to do my best to make you feel those things. But I will also pray that you experience Jesus.

There is probably a lot more I could say. But I’m tired and have lost my train of thought. So I’ll end here.

In the end we’re all fighting about love. I just pray we all can see God’s love is greater than our scope can imagine.