I’ve been giving some thought to a conversation I had with a couple good friends Saturday morning over breakfast. We touched on some issues that have real complexity for all true Christ followers. And when it comes to engaging these issues, Christ followers are all over the map.
One of the things I love about their church (I also consider it my church, though I haven’t been there in a long while. Really need to go back.) is the way it embraces people wherever they are in their journey of/toward faith. Perhaps in no way is this more evident than in the fact that the church has several homosexual couples who attend regularly. Most of the Fundy folks I know would be horrified at the thought that a church would allow homosexuals into the fellowship, which makes me wonder how much they really understand the heart and mission of Jesus. (Just my two cents, but shouldn't the church be seeking these people and bringing them in?) But I’m not here to throw stones. Frankly, I think it’s a beautiful and wonderful thing that these individuals, so long alienated by the universal church, have finally found a “hospital” that will treat them, along with all the other “patients” who have more spiritually acceptable “ailments.” What’s more amazing, though, is that this is a church with a pastor who doesn’t water down his message. When approached by one of these couples, he spoke kindly and honestly, telling them that the Bible calls homosexuality sinful, but that it also talks about a lot of other sins, so as far as he is concerned, they are welcome to join all the other sinners in the church to be ministered to. How beautiful!
I was surprised to hear, though, that a small minority of the people in the church object to the presence of these homosexuals. It’s not that they don’t want them to attend, or so I understand. It’s that these gay couples are still actively practicing homosexuality and, therefore, as these people see it, they shouldn’t be embraced as though they are living a holy life.
The situation raises some challenging questions, and both sides have valid points, making it tricky for me to strike a clearly defined balance. At what cost to truth do we embrace an individual’s spiritual journey? And at what cost to an individual’s spiritual journey do we demand compliance with black and white law? When you attempt to take both sides into account, it makes it really hard to come up with an honest answer.
On the one hand you have the Fundies, and if you’re going to take the Bible seriously you have to give their point of view the credit it deserves. Homosexuality isn’t something the Bible minces words about. It’s not a gray area. I can’t say that I fully understand that, because trying to understand why God doesn’t like the homosexual lifestyle is something I struggle with. But if you’re going to do business with the Bible, it’s there in black and white. On the other hand, you have the more liberal view: we’re all sinners of one kind or another, and not one of us lives a perfectly pure life, no matter how hard we may try. There are countless other sins of omission or commission: fornication, theft, dishonesty, gossip, gluttony, hatred, unforgiveness, a judgmental heart, selfishness. I could go on, but I’ve probably already hit on at least one sin that each my readers struggles with and/or fails at miserably. God makes it clear that sin is sin, no matter what kind of sin happens to be your personal favorite. As far as He’s concerned they’re all on the same level. So the more liberal argument goes that since we’re all sinners and we all live in sin in one way or another, why would we single out one group of sinners as worse or less deserving or less welcome at God’s table of vagabonds than the rest? We can’t and shouldn’t. And I absolutely agree with that.
In one respect, I think the issue comes down to one of the struggle, or lack thereof, to change. My guess is that the dissenters would not object to these homosexuals being embraced by the church if they were choosing to remain celibate. (I also wonder if they would be so concerned about someone living in ongoing sin if that person were, say, cheating on his taxes or perpetuating an ugly feud with his neighbor instead of being a homosexual. But that's another matter.) Not knowing who these individuals are and not having spoken with them, I can't say that is certainly the case, but that would be my guess. And again, there's something valid in that. The Bible does have something to say about allowing people to remain in fellowship who are choosing to continue living in willful sin. To put it gently, it doesn't endorse it. But I have to be honest and say that something deep inside me recoils fiercely at the thought of any Christ follower approaching these souls that are so dear to God and telling them not to come back. I'm sorry; I just can't see Jesus doing that. And for those of you out there who so love justice, I'll just point you to the literal example of Jesus and Judas. Jesus knew what Judas was up to the entire time he served in His ministry. Judas didn't start sinning when he betrayed Jesus. He'd been up to a whole lot of other nasty business all along, and it was no secret to Jesus. But He didn't kick him out. Just something to consider...
Here's where the concept of journey comes into play again. Truthfully, we all take a spiritual journey with God. I can't tell you how many times I've heard about God bringing something to someone's attention they weren't aware of or wrestling with their heart for many months or years over a particular issue they didn't want to change in. Does the fact that the He has to cultivate change in the heart over the long-term make someone any less His child? Hell no!
I wish I could find some kind of firm ground here. I know that proponents of both sides would say that firm ground should be clear and evident to me, but honestly it isn't. There is validity on both sides. I don't think that people can go around for years at a time doing whatever the hell they want or choosing to live in blatant sin and it should be okay, and I don't think the church should "endorse" behaviors that are spoken about in black and white in the Bible. But I also don't think they should be kicked out or treated like garbage or judged by other recovering sinners. I know the Fundies would probably condemn me to hell for saying it, but even in my most conservative days, some part of me really had a difficult time with Paul's teachings on how to deal with sinners in the fellowship. It's one of those things that God and I need to come to an understanding about because it sincerely bothers my heart.
So I'm torn. I wish I could side clearly with one group or another, or that I could come to a place where the ideal solution could be found that would take both sides into account, but that hasn't presented itself. Perhaps in time it will come, or perhaps the answer is simply that no answer is right in every situation. Perhaps each church and minister and Christ follower must seek God's heart and wisdom for each situation, remember that love must be central and judgment must be tempered by mercy.
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