Angie's Aim

So, let’s talk about me! :-)

I am a believer who is committed to living the way of Jesus Christ, God incarnate. I accept and respect the Bible as the inspired word of God and believe it is meant to draw me into deeper relationship with Him, through His Holy Spirit. Part of looking at life through this lens has been my conclusion that homosexual sex is a sin (which is in line with the beliefs of mainstream Christian churches – and I assume that’s representative of most of my blog commenters). However, I don’t believe having same-sex attractions (hereafter referred to as SSA) is sinful… after all, none of us get to choose what we are tempted by. Others in this camp of belief would include (though you may not be aware you’re sitting beside them on Sunday) people who experience unwanted homosexual feelings and choose to depend on God in order to live a life that is not mastered by them. Some may never disclose this part of themselves while others take the risk of finding a safe place to reveal their struggle. Some will marry, believing that these feelings will go away or at least diminish. You may have heard the term ex-gay used, which I’m not a big fan of & we’ll discuss why in a later post.

It’s not all about me though…

At the same time, I am in relationship (close friends) with people who have come to different conclusions in their Biblical interpretations of whether or not homosexuality is sin. Most believe that they were created to be attracted to their same gender – that it is right and natural. What may surprise most of you is that none of them came to these decisions lightly. They wrestled with God, scripture and their feelings and they asked the hard questions.  That deserves respect. These friends would deem themselves gay Christians (embracing a gay theology approach to God). Most will attempt to find churches who share their same beliefs. Others in this camp (who do not believe homosexuality is a sin) may reject the Bible altogether or embrace an alternative form of spirituality. These are the folks you probably don’t notice as you drive by them in your rush to the church building on Sunday.

So, this puts me in a difficult position – between my rock (God) and the hard stuff. That is where these conversations were born. There is a gap between these two fundamental beliefs that I think Satan uses to keep us from interacting. Both sides are deeply convicted and therefore unwilling to shift. (This seemingly impossible situation is not unique. We experience the same frustrations in our worship wars and certainly in politics among many other things…)

So, how can I stand in this gap?

What if…

What if the first step is to accept that this is our reality without attempting to alter it? In order to have conversations, each camp must stop trying to convert/influence the other by proclaiming who is right and who is wrong. This is particularly difficult for Christians to do since we claim that drawing these lines is part of our great commission. But do we have any other goals rather than being right or saving souls?

That sounds sacrilegious, but what if relationship is the initial goal in all impossible situations and saving is God’s job? Can we let go of our ulterior motives [gotta make them believe like us, quit living in sin or be straight!] in order to be in a mutual life-giving relationship? This doesn’t mean you let go of your convictions - only that you commit to the greatest command of loving God and loving others. All of the law and the prophets hang on those two commandments – THAT’S BIG!!! Loving relationship provides the only substantial grounds for either side to speak a different perspective into a person’s life anyway. You’ll only amount to a talking head and a clanging cymbal without that kind of love.

You’ll notice that the dividing line revolves around whether or not homosexuality is a sin rather than who believes in God and who doesn’t! I vote for no dividing lines whatsoever, but isn’t it interesting where we chose to draw these lines?  

It is not a betrayal of who you are in Christ to be inclusive rather than exclusive. 

So, we need to repent for being straight and narrow-minded! Yeah, it takes two to tango, but we are only responsible for our own actions and inactions. Nothing breaks down barriers like humility and vulnerability. I think it’s a great place to start.

I know most of you are chomping at the bit to discuss the big questions, particularly the origins/causes of homosexuality. By delaying that discussion, my intent was to show how we gravitate toward wanting to know all the “right answers” much more than we gravitate toward understanding the plight of the person who lives it! But you guys are ready for more!  I’m re-working the posts as we go, praying about it and trying to take my cues from God. Thanks for your patience…