Friday, November 26, 2010

Hope Within

Always be ready to share the hope that is within you...

Hope.

Do we have hope? Today, I left work and felt hopeless. I wondered,why am I bothering to work in a ministry that deals with so much hard stuff. Basically I get to hear the stories that others within the body of Christ do not get to hear. Today, I thought, this is just too much...and yet, good things happened today. Lives were touched by Jesus today...in the midst of hard stuff being shared.

Hope? I still have hope...but it seems it is getting harder and harder within our culture. It is way easier to accept easy answers in life. It's easier to just keep looking at porn...
it's easier to keep masturbating...
it's easier to keep sleeping with your boy/girl friend...
it's easier to just accept yourself as gay or lesbian...
it's easier to leave your spouse...
it's easier to keep drinking...
it's easier to keep getting angry...
it's easier to keep shopping......and we forget.

We forget those around us that love us...those who want the best for us. We tune them out to follow our own desires and feelings because deep down...it's easy.
Because in going the easy way, we can keep numbing the deeper issues. Maybe it's shame, a deep sense of aloneness, rejection, fear, low self esteem. Maybe we've been so abused that we can't even think of going there. We cope with the easy way. Maybe it's because we lose sight of community and the importance of walking in discipleship with one another. Maybe we lose sight of hope...maybe we don't hear enough stories of hope?

I have read a lot of columns, books, blogs and surprisingly more christian's who are taking the easy way regarding same gender attraction. As a culture and society, it is way more accepted and please hear me, if you are struggling with same gender attraction or you are identified as gay and lesbian, you should feel valued, respected and treated with dignity...regardless of how you are living your life.

I went to a seminar and saw a film that was put out by the gay christian network last week. It felt hopeless! Not hope-filled. I was hearing people share their feelings, their experiences, and their joy as they embraced themselves with the descriptive label of gay and lesbian...and then the film stopped.

As this topic continues to be brought up in society, the fear that I have had for years is that we are moving to a time when we are no longer able to say anything that offends someone within the church. That we can no longer call sin...sin, because it goes against someone's identity. In a sense it is silencing hope. The hope of Jesus Christ who transforms lives. Who makes all things new. But it takes work, discipline and sometimes it takes a daily giving up on things that are not the best for us. I came to realize that being gay was not the best that God had for me. He had something far more precious...and it turned out that it really wasn't about me anyway. It was about Him. My Father God...who's image I carry as I live out my days on earth.

I have talked about this in length as someone who has walked specifically out of a gay identity into the transforming work of Jesus Christ, who loved me enough to not let me stay in that identity. Was it hard work? Very! Was it worth it? Very much so! Would I do it all over again? YES! Do I still struggle? Yes...I will continue to as Christ refines me...until He finishes the good work that he started. He will bring it to completion...when I see him face to face. When HE says well done good and faithful servant.

Stand firm then...in the hope that lies within...the hope of transformation. In the last days there will be a great falling away...there will be false prophets who will come and many will fall prey to false doctrine...the messages will sound great...yet scripture will be misquoted, Jesus will be misrespresented...and we will be welcomed to please our fleshly desires...(those falling away will be those within the church...those of faith).

So get to know your Bible...eat it! Breath it! Listen to God speak! See if it lines up with his word. If you hear something and it doesn't line up to scripture...it is probably not from God. I hear people say...God said he's okay with me being gay or lesbian...and that is a lie, it doesn't line up to scripture, and it doesn't line up with the Bible contextually. What is true is that He loves you...period, but the holy Trinity is not okay with sin.

Find hope...there is hope. Run to it...and make it your friend. Rise up and take your place and let hope find a home in your heart and mind.

2 comments:

Sarah-Jane Melnychuk said...

You're right it is far easier to follow our feelings and the desires of our flesh ... the Apostle Paul warns against this ... he even points out that we're slaves to something and it's far better to be slaves to rightiousness.... though that's obviously not as easy as it is doing what seems to be so natural.

That's the argument of so many people, this feels natural, therefore this is the way to go and anything else is denying myself .. well .. hello .. we're actually called to deny self to follow Christ. Following Christ is not natural because sin is natural... living by our fleshly desires is what comes natural.

I want to see a greater manifestation where folks in the church will learn more and more what it means to live supernaturally natural.

I just got back from the silent auction surrounded by people who chose to NOT take the easy road. It's always encouraging to surround ourselves with folks who have decided to take up their cross to follow Christ.

It's not easy being a living sacrifice to the Lord but we find hope there since God can't resurrect the living :)

kenny said...

Sarah

I love your response. Especially, our call to deny ourselves, and the fact that sin is natural...we are born into sin. That's why we need a savior...Jesus Christ who calls us into holiness, to be set apart, not like the world.

May the Lord continue to inspire you, and show you His extravagant love...He is proud of you...His precious daughter.