Perhaps your heart started racing when you read the title. Mine is racing as I write. However, for several weeks I’ve found myself having the same conversation with me and/or with others. The conversation can be quite taboo. It’s an invitation to debates. I don’t like debates and I hate confrontation but my heart aches...
First let me say, that I personally do not understand the plight of those in the LGBTQ community. I say this with much compassion and zero judgment. I want to be clear before I proceed because my perspective is from only where I sit.
As I have been growing through my own healing process, I have had to get down off of my high horse. Especially the spiritual one. Home girl always wants to be right. Shush! Embracing the compassionate heart of God for myself, His mercy, His kindness, I have found more of that for others even if or when I don’t agree with one thing or another. Particularly, specifically the lifestyle of those who have struggled, or consent to, or are born into same sex attraction. I have friends. Dear friends who are gay or secretly struggle or finally said to heck with it, this is who I am. With some I have been vocal. Maybe too vocal. With others I felt it best to hush. None the less I love them all; as I have privately judged, or was critical, or jealous (So you get to do you with no penalty? Like I wasn’t already doing me- figurative speech) and out right lacked empathy and compassion at times!
It is so much easier to preach change when you have no idea what a persons journey has cost them. The pain, the torment, the questions, the ridicule, the judgment, the hate etc. I believe that people who love Jesus as best they can become drunk with being right and it blurs their vision to the opportunity for them to see people as precious. To ask the right questions. To just lock hands and love. To say can you tell me a bit about your story, is important. We skip all of these steps and stuff a bottle of cure all down throats and repeat the process if the outcome wasn’t according to plan! If we’re honest we don’t have enough faith for our own junk why assert what you don’t have onto the plight of another? Consider...
In my conversations with my friends I’ve heard pain and frustration. Especially those who dare to live their life for Christ. Who hang out in the church, who desire freedom from their own personally angst. Some don’t and that’s ok too (How dare I right? 🙄). Here is where my heart becomes heavy:
Jesus works for everything and everybody but me/this!
-or-
Hers an invitation to be “free” except we’ll continue to judge and ridicule you in your change!
These statements are probably too general but I’m trying to get to the point.
So, I’m going to just say where I think the church often makes a misstep in our efforts toward what most don’t understand or speak up on/about... We over sell healing and freedom. We chase this community down with our solution and decree and declare instant change! And if your change isn’t instant we did it wrong or you ain’t ready... It’s too black and white! We’re leading with the wrong foot. There is no room for the Loving God of the process to work, and when He is at work we are forcing external changes to make us comfortable! It’s insanity! We’re rude and mean and intolerant of PROCESS whatever that looks like....We don’t allow people to get settled in their New Life in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). And we want to be authors of the narrative! So people walk away feeling like Jesus didn’t work, He must want me to be this way, this is how He made me, etc etc., forget it!
We’ve heard it all before. No sin is different than the other. We are all born and shaped in iniquity (Ps. 51:5). Iniquity- gross injustice; wickedness. WE ARE ALL BORN into this destiny... the manifestation of this looks different for so many. But there is only one answer for it all and only one course corrector...Christ... if we so choose!
Holy Rollers? THAT’S THE CHOICE (let that sink in)
Nothing... NOTHING is greater than the power of Christ Jesus! No issue, no pain, no torment... Nothing! He’s not asking you to not feel it, perhaps He’s asking that you trust Him with it! “...All things have been made New!” (2 Cor. 5:17) New perspective, new strength, new desires, new needs, new appetites... New journeys...New!
I guess I’m proposing if we spent less time trying to arrive to the destination we want for another, if we spent less time stripping others of their NEW strength, and spent more time offering Truth in Love, supportive hugs, and open doors to those who desire, we may be able to get somewhere! We all only know in part... Master the part you know and focus on displaying the sincere love of the Master (Jesus).
Jesus really can handle it all and handles us all well in our truest rawest form... Just be ready for His goodness to sweep you 😘
Love y’all,
Jess 🥰
“You are Enough! Quality. Meeting ALL EXPECTATIONS!”