For ritual clean and undefiled with God the Father is this: to be visiting the bereaved and widowed in their affliction, to be keeping oneself unspotted from the world.
James 1: 27, Concordant New Testament
I was interested in a comment made by a friend the other day about a group of people whom they were wondering how to show the indwelling Christ to. The trouble is, this group has often been labeled by society as being different and out of the norm of social behavior. Consequently, the church has not made too many friends within this community. The community I speak of are those in the LGBTQ community. When was the last time you saw a mainstream church celebrating LGBTQ rights? While I agree with the moral stand the church has taken on this issue, I would also point to the trail of damaged brethren it has left in its wake. For those who may not know, the LGBTQ community is one where suicides have been on the rise over the past few years. While I do not find this surprising, what I do find alarming is the seemingly "Let them kill each other off" attitude of the church. Granted, the church may not have openly advocated for the elimination of this group from society, they have very little in the way of accepting them into the church family. Why is that? We often welcome those formerly addicted to alcohol and drugs back into our church families. In fact, they are often seen as those who have overcome and brought forth as examples of such. Their former sins are seemingly worth forgiveness. But what about those in the LGBTQ and gay rights communities? Are their behaviors so egregious that even God cannot find His way to forgive them? No. Thankfully, God does not share in mans idea of who should be worthy of His forgiveness. I would say that if each and every person who has ever engaged in deviant behavior, be they sexual in nature or not, suddenly came to the revelation that they have a life and future in Christ Jesus that Jesus Himself would accept them even if the so called church does not. If the sin of the one involved in the LGBTQ lifestyle is so unforgivable, what other offenses has God set aside which can never be forgiven? Jesus has proclaimed that He has not come to condemn...but to lead the unsaved to salvation {John 3:17}.
For thus God loves the world, so that He gives His only begotten Son, that everyone who is believing in Him should not be perishing, but may be living life eonian. For God does not dispatch His Son into the world that He should be judging the world, but that the world may be saved through Him.
John 3: 16-17, Concordant New Testament
I've always found it funny that one of the main verses we Christians use in our so called ministries is what we find in John 3:16. We see it at public events on television, on t shirts and spoken unto those we deem needing of salvation. I do not dispute the message of this passage, all who believe in Christ Jesus WILL be saved. Yet what do these verses tell us about the unloved? John 3:17 tells us all we need to know. Jesus DID NOT come to judge the world, but that the world may be saved through Him. It has never been the Lords intent that the unloved be left behind in torment. In fact, it has never been Gods intent that there would be any unloved among His children. When I refer to the term unloved, I refer to the designation the world has slapped on those it does not desire. LGBTQ, the homeless, unbelievers...the unloved among us. We are the ones referring to them as unloved, not God. It is God who has proclaimed them loved and worthy. Is it any wonder too many people refrain from attending church? To a certain segment of the population, the church is a place of condemnation. So how is it that we show the light of Jesus to the unloved? How is it that we show them the love which God has made known to us? Well, a good friend once told me that the world will see Jesus through those who truly know Him. The indwelling Christ is more than ready to reveal Himself unto those needing to know Him. Our place is not to condemn, but to be that revelation.
~Scott~
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