What Does God Think of Gay Marriage?

A political war is waging across America this week. Ready or not, each of us is now forced to face the decision of whether we support or oppose the latest ruling regarding gay marriage. For the majority, there are strong emotions tied to this action. What is so fascinating to me about this entire debate though, is the fact that the two groups creating the biggest feud preach some of the same things.

The Christians, although they oppose the ruling, preach the importance of love. The goal of Christianity is to become more like Christ, and to become like Christ is to be without sin. To be pure, to be holy, and to be upright, we must learn to love like Christ. Christ’s love is without conditions, without limits, without gratification, and without an end.

On the other end of the dispute are those who preach tolerance and acceptance. They believe in giving everyone a choice as to how they live their lives. They believe in loving others without strings attached. They believe in supporting the actions of others.

To see both sides of the spectrum with an unbiased approach, it becomes clear that the groups share a common ideal. At the core of the matter, each group desires to show love and kindness to those around them. So what is the big difference, and why is it such a big deal? And what does God think of gay marriage, anyway?

The difference is actually quite simple. While the tolerant group argues to take each person as they are, they are, thus, supporting humanity and its fragility.

On the other hand, the Christian perspective seeks restoration for a broken people. Homosexuality, among all other sin, is something that takes us further away from God. As Romans 3:23 states, we have all fallen short of the glory of God. So while, yes, homosexuality is sinful, there is a greater issue at hand. Unlike the tolerant perspective, the Christian perspective supports a complete shedding of self, and adoption of new morals and standards that are like Christ.

Unfortunately, our country is drifting further and further from Biblically moral standards, and has opted to “create” its own instead.

I truly believe it hurts God to see a culture that is aggressively seeking to provide a gateway to sin (such as this new ruling). However, I think He is also saddened by the fact that we (those of us who are Christians) can become so caught up in the politics that we forget the very nature of God.

God is unconditionally loving, and unconditionally forgiving. He has chosen to love each one of us despite each and every flaw we have. More than anything, He wants us all to find restoration. So perhaps some of us need a reminder of that. We were not born without out sin. Homosexual or not, we all fall short of God’s glory. Likewise, we are absolutely supposed to love the gay community in spite of their sin. God does!

However, we can’t ignore the difference between the two groups. While I believe tolerant people genuinely are very loving, there is danger in their plea. To choose acceptance is to give way to our sinful nature. In doing so, morality becomes foggy and chaos is unleashed. People become their own lords, and freedom from sin drifts further away from our reach.

Therefore, we must all decide. First, we must choose whether to love people unconditionally, or to set parameters on our love. Secondly, we must choose our level of contentment. Do we accept ourselves, our society, and our culture in their current state? Or do we seek to be greater? Do we seek to resemble the nature of Christ, or do we seek to satisfy our own nature?

Until next time,

Tamara

Dreams and Defeat

Have you ever felt like you’ve been given a front row seat to your own defeat? Unpleasant as that may sound, I think it’s something most of us can relate to on some level. In times of discouragement, we are quick to lose our sense of control. We begin to feel trapped, like helpless bystanders watching our beloved dreams unravel.

Now that I’ve set the peppy tone, let’s get real about facing defeat. As humans, we thrive on happiness, success, and fulfillment. We develop goals, aspirations and dreams that help us to grow. We set expectations, we work hard, and we bear the fruit of our actions. Right?  

But sometimes it doesn’t feel like that. There are times when our hard work displays no results. There are times when our elaborate dreams may hit a dead end. There are instances when we are left feeling unsatisfied, unfulfilled, and overlooked. These feelings are real, and may seem completely justified. After all, God gave us the ability to pursue our dreams, so why would he let us fail?

Truthfully, we may never know the answer to why we face such trials and failures. Sometimes there may be a lesson to be learned, and other times our dreams may not have our best interest in mind. Unfortunately, our limited scope of knowledge hinders us from fully understanding the big picture. However, we can take comfort in the fact that God has promised to remain faithful to those who have been faithful to Him. As Psalm 84: 11 states,

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
 the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.

This verse has been an interesting one for me. My initial interpretation was that if I am working towards a worthy goal with righteous intentions, then nothing should stand in my way from attaining it. However, that’s not quite accurate. Although my goal may be pure and my actions may be blameless, that doesn’t make it “good.” You see, where I fell short in my interpretation was understanding what “good” really meant. Good is not what humans see as just. Good is not something (we feel) we’ve earned. Rather, good is what is most beneficial. Good is what is right. Good is God’s will. While humans have a limited point of view and lack foresight, God sees a greater picture.

There have been so many occasions in my life where I wanted something so bad but didn’t get it. Looking back years later, I can honestly say some of my desires that seemed pure were not actually what was best for me. It’s so important that we learn to trust God to be faithful. I would like to encourage anyone who is feeling disheartened at this time. God sees you. He knows your heart, and He loves you more than you will ever comprehend. However, our fulfillment and happiness cannot be dependent on our dreams coming to fruition. Rather, we must find fulfillment in God. He is faithful, and He knows what is best for us.

No good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

Until next time,

Tamara