What about Homosexuality?

There was a recent controversy that has made the news here in Iowa.  You can read/watch it here: School Assembly Creates Controversy

It has reminded me of a question that we need to wrestle with: "How do Christians confront homosexuality?" There is a variety of different responses that I have seen in my life time.  There is the extreme hatred of someone like Fred Phelps.

     There is the other extreme where churches ordain homosexuals as ministers.  But there are a lot of responses in between these extremes.  I believe how the church responds to this issue could be the defining issue of our time.   

     Here are a few of my observations.  It seems like the movement towards "tolerance" is very intolerant of any differing viewpoint.  I saw a recent interview with Kirk Cameron.  He made this statement about homosexuality, "I think it is unnatural.  I think that it is detrimental and ultimately destructive to so many foundations of civilization."  The interviewer asked Kirk Cameron if this kind of statement was encouraging people to feel hate towards gay people.  Why is it that every time anyone says that homosexuality is wrong they are immediately accused of hate speech?  In fact, I know people that have said homosexuality is wrong and have received very "hateful" responses and even death threats.  That doesn't sound like a very "tolerant" response.    

     One of the first accusations of people who fight Christians who stand up against homosexuality is that they are not responding with God's love.  They always say that if God is love, why would his followers teach hate?  Why is telling someone that their behavior is destructive considered "hate speech?"  I believe that smoking is destructive behavior, does that mean that I hate everyone who smokes?  NO!  I believe that overeating is destructive behavior, does that mean that I hate everyone who is overweight?  NO!  

     It seems like we are quickly heading toward a society that will arrest anyone who dares to speak a differing viewpoint.  The interviewer even asked Kirk Cameron the question: "Why do you even talk about this subject and keep saying things that cause people such alarm?"

     But ultimately we need to follow the example of Christ who came communicating "Grace and Truth."  Jesus had this amazing ability to hold the tension between these to things.  He was very comfortable being with people who were immersed in what he would clearly call "Sin."  But even more amazing is that the scripture paints for us the picture that "sinners" were very comfortable around Jesus.  

     I believe that Jesus shows us how to speak truth about issues and still communicate grace to people.  Ultimately we can miss the mark if we spend too much time on either end of the spectrum.  I recently had a very interesting conversation with a couple of young men:  One who claimed to be a homosexual and the other who claimed to be an atheist.   The atheist spoke about a past church experience.  He said that it taught him that "the core of religion are people who care compassionately about one another."  

     That is the grace part of the spectrum that we as Christians cannot let go of.  But this atheist also said, "get with the times and drop this 'being gay is a sin' crap.  A smart church would just chuck the Bible into a wood chipper and talk about what LOVE really means."  While I applaud this young man's first statement, I must take issue with this statement.  

     He is exactly right that, "the core of religion is people who care compassionately about one another."  But the issue is that I cannot truly do that without the foundation of TRUTH.  As a Christian, the reason I love people compassionately is because I am following the teaching's of Christ.  If I throw them out the window I have no foundation for LOVE.               

My Son Fell off a Cliff!

     Last night I decided to take my son Isaiah on our first father/son camping trip.  We went to Pallisades state park.  We set up our tent, and then went on our first hike.  We went down to the river and skipped stones till dark.  We came back and started a fire and ate our supper.  Then we got in our tent and laid under the stars.  We told stupid "scary" campfire stories, sang silly songs, and laughed a lot together.  Then we went to sleep.  I was quickly reminded of how difficult it is to sleep on the ground.  I know I tossed and turned all night.
     We then woke up, ate our breakfast and decided to go on another hike.  The sun was shinning, and the weather was perfect.  So far the perfect weekend.  We were walking down the "Cedar Cliff" trail and Isaiah asked why it was called that.  I replied "probably because the cedar river is on the left and cliffs are on the right."  There are all these mini trails that diverge from the main trail where people have climbed up and back down the cliffs.  We decided to give them a try.  We climbed up one trail and then Isaiah decided to climb back down another trail.  I said, I don't know about that trail it seems pretty steep and dangerous.  Isaiah gave me his typical reply, "Oh it's fine Dad I won't fall."  No sooner had he said that when to my horror I watch him slip and fall off the cliff.  
     I began to run back down the other path as fast as I could to get to him.  After stumbling a few times and injuring myself in the process, I got to him.  He was standing up screaming, "I need to go to the hospital!"  I quickly began to survey his injuries and replay in my mind what had just happened.
     If their is a perfect way to fall off a 12 cliff, my son some how managed to do just that.  He fell flat on his back on dirt.  As I looked back to where he fell from, I realized he could have easily hit his head, and got a concussion or worse.  He could have broken his arm or leg, but instead he falls flat on his back.  I then carried him on my back to our car and returned home.
     What is interesting to me about this story is that just this week, our family was at the same park and Dianne and I had multiple confrontations with our son about being safe on the trails.  He refused to listen to us and was quite defiant about the matter.  I was very disappointed in the way he acted and realized something had to change.  That was the impetus for us to go on this camping trip.  I cleared my schedule and decided to take him camping.  I wanted to once again reinforce in his mind how important it is to listen and obey his parents.
     After my son had calmed down from his near death experience, I asked him if he now understood why Mom and Dad were so "strict" about being careful around cliffs.  I also asked him if he now understood how important it was to listen to us, because we really just want to protect him.  His reply was "definitely Dad!"
     I find that this story parallels so many principles in our relationship with God.  1. Just like my son we are often ticked off at God for how strict he is.  We live in a culture that basically tells us that it is time to drop all of the archaic, antiquated standards of the Bible, and just talk about God's Love.  The reason God put these principles and boundaries in the Bible is because he knows that nothing but pain and destruction live on the other side of those boundaries.
     Number 2, Many times God protects us from the worse consequences of rebellion.  God definitely protected my son when he fell off that cliff, but trust me he is feeling the pain of that bad decision.  How often have you and I been mad at God because he didn't protect us from all of the consequences of our poor choices?
     Number 3, God can even use the pain of our life for our good.  My son will definitely be more careful around cliffs now and hopefully will be more attentive to his parents.  I wish my son didn't have to go through this, but he learned a very valuable lesson today.
[DISCLAIMER]  I do not believe that every bad or painful thing that happens in our life is the result of our poor choices or some how God's punishment in our lives.  But I do firmly believe Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose."
    Number 4, as I watched my son fall and get hurt, my heart was broken.  No good father wants to see their children experience pain.  God is no different.  He is a loving heavenly father and his heart is broken when he sees us experience pain.  Also my leg is bleeding now because of how quickly I had to get to my son when he was hurt.  God also is close to the broken-hearted.  He promised to never leave you or forsake you.