Homosexuality
has become such a divisive issue as of late that I think it is time to rethink
it briefly. Some think it is the worse
sin imaginable truly an abomination before the Lord. Others assert because of our progressive society
that we should overwhelmingly accept their chosen lifestyle as legitimate and
healthy. And there are others, the vast majority, who fall in between.
This
is not an easy issue to address since the Bible condemns it. But the Bible also condemns adultery, cohabitation
and even pornography. In fact the Bible
prohibits any form of sexual expression outside of the marriage relationship between
a man and a woman. Now that may sound
narrow and old fashioned but it is what the Bible says.
So
I asked myself, “How would Jesus respond to homosexuals?” I believe he would respond the same way as he
did with the tax collectors and prostitutes, “the sinners,” of his day. He would love and spend time with them caring
for their needs. I remember the story of
the woman caught in adultery and Jesus told her to go and sin no more. He did not condemn her. Neither did he condemn the Samaritan woman at
the well when he told her she had been married five times and the one she was
currently with was not her husband. She
went home and told her family she had met the Messiah the one who gave her
living water through which she would never be thirsty gain.
So
what can we do? We need to remember the
homosexual as well as the heterosexual are both image bearers of God and both
are fallen creatures. All image bearers have
inestimable dignity, therefore, that we need to acknowledge and affirm. Let’s tone down the defamatory rhetoric and opt
for truth couched in love. Jesus told his
Jewish listeners, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Since
Jesus was that truth, some accepted it but many rejected it. For those who rejected it, unfortunately, they
remained in their prison of falsehood. I
believe we as Christians need to show homosexuals we love them. We need to back it up with marriages that are
healthy and strong. And we need to
present the truth in such a way that will set them free from the falsehood they
have bought in to from society.
