Last weekend, the US legalized same-sex marriage. Rainbow colors filled my screen when I finally got online after my mid-year fast. And with it, various commentaries and opinions – many of which are from the Christian community. I didn’t read or listen to what other people had to say. I didn’t keep track of the number of friends on Facebook whose profile photos suddenly became overlaid with colorful stripes. In the midst of it all, I realized – of the many deeply polarizing issues around us today, homosexuality is one that gets talked about a lot in the media.
They say it’s a win for love. It’s easy to see it that way. It’s also easy to judge those who think otherwise. The public and the press are quick to label those who stand against homosexuality as discriminatory and prejudiced. After all, we are now in an age where differences are celebrated and non-conformity is tolerated.
I will not presume to understand what a homosexual person goes through daily. I’m not one, nor have I ever been one. I have gay and lesbian friends, and I love and respect them. It does not mean I agree with their choices, or I condone their actions. But I love them because they are human beings who need and want to be loved.
For many years, I never took a stand on the issue of homosexuality. I took it as simply something that is part of humanity – there will always be gay people in the world. And I know many Christians who have a similar attitude. It was only recently that I began to see the issue for what it really was. Homosexuality is a corruption of God’s beautiful design for human beings. It was a distortion of the human, physical love that God had intended for man and woman. It’s difficult to explain this to non-Christians in a way that doesn’t offend them. You can say – hey, it’s a personal choice. As long as it’s between two mutually consenting adults, there shouldn’t be a problem. But there IS a problem. It’s called sin.
I can’t presume to think that people will agree with my personal views. Because I can’t presume that they believe in the things that I believe in. I believe in a Creator, who made man and woman to be complementary mates in a union that was designed to be good (Gen 1:27-28, 31). I believe that this Creator – Elohim, God – gave man the most beautiful gift of free will, so we can have the privilege (and responsibility) of choice. I believe that, finite beings as we are, we have trouble understanding what free will truly means. So Adam and Eve had made that fateful choice that changed the course of mankind. Instead of being free rulers as God wanted us to be, we became slaves – slaves to the illusion that we are in control, that we have a say, that we are free.
The world thinks that the US Supreme Court ruling is a step towards universal inclusivity and acceptance. That it is a celebration of life, liberty, and love. But the Bible defines these things very differently from how the world understands them.
Who knows better about life than the Giver of life? (John 10:10). Who understands free will better than the One who made us sentient beings, capable of thinking and deciding? And who demonstrates love better than the Father who gave up so much to win us back from sin and death? (John 3:16). Life begins when we embrace God’s design for us as humans. Liberty comes when we allow ourselves to live under God’s protection, under His guidance and within his guidelines. And love found its fulfillment when God’s son chose to die for all of humanity – in the most cruel and painful way possible.
It is not an easy message to preach. It is possibly even harder to accept. Because in our self-sufficient, independent state, we want to fight for a cause as noble as love.
But we don’t need to fight for love. It was given freely over 2000 years ago, on a blood-stained cross outside city gates.
* Rewritten for and posted on SAVED.
