This is an old post, but it serves as good background info to the most recent blog.

...love is not God, GOD IS love.

Many will tell me I just contradicted myself, but I did not.

Yesterday, after reading this blog and countless others with the same theme, I was deeply moved. All being powerfully presented for the case of Love (vs. God -- or at least, the Judeo-Christian God which many are raising as their banner while fighting against homosexual marriages, truthfully or not).

And many all around the world are joining in with these defenders of Love & Charity, asking "Amidst all the evil being committed in the world, how can any human with a heart deny lovers their desire to be together forever? With heterosexual marriages having a less than 50% chance of survival, why deny homosexuals the flicker of a chance that they are asking for? How does granting them "holy matrimony" affect your flame, or your statistics (which are only getting worse and "less holy" with swingers and the like..)? How? Why? and Why do it in the name of your God who calls himself love? Do your God a favor and allow these people their chance at love, their piece of God." (phrases pulled from many blogs).

And man, was my heart moved by their plea. I broke into tears at my desk at work, my heart burdened with their thirst for love, for God - and saddened that we believe the path to God is love, not realising that the path to love is God. Society and the Devil have succeeded in intoxicating generations with this myth, and homosexuals are just one room in this gigantic house. The 18-yr old PK that becomes madly in love with her boyfriend, and is PERSUADED that since 'god is Love', she does not need to wait til marriage to "make love" to him. The 55-yr old church bishop who is not "in love" with his wife anymore, and is thus CONVINCED that the 'god of Love' wants him to divorce her and marry the church secretary whose spirit he has loved and admired for years now. The 39-yr old Bible-thumper who has been fighting to be redeemed from her homosexual past, but now, with her highschool sweetheart resurfacing and re-igniting 'a love that was undeniable', and being confident that "nothing can separate her from the Love of god, since we are all sinners saved by grace"... she is SURE of 3 things: She is a woman, a lesbian, and a Christian - and only the latter was her choice.

Yes, all 3 examples were "church people", because quite frankly, this commentary is not about homosexuals (whether homosexual marriages should be legalised will be another commentary) but about we, the Christians. We, the Christians, who deem these 'truths' to be "self-evident" and not "God-evident". We, the ones who not only run wild with our own "interpretations", but also quote 50 Scripture references to back up our beliefs, because we have taken God off the throne and instead put love in His place... and we did it all in the name of the Bible. Because, of course, the Bible says, "god is Love"; BUT I assure you the correct phrase is "God is love". Yes, love is the lowercase, because it is the lower in this court case.

And so the verdict is in, the FINAL RULING in the case of Love vs. God is that GOD IS love. God is my love. God is my only gate and source to love. All other persuasions, convictions, and confidants MUST BOW... only His rulings will stand in my life. I love PEOPLE, but I don't love LOVE, I love GOD. God loves people but HATES FORNICATION, DIVORCE, and HOMOSEXUALITY the same way he hates LIES, LUST, AND MURDER because He knows the ultimate result of these carcinogens: HIDDEN SICKNESS, CANCER, DEATH. And I will leave myself at His mercy, because He is the Judge, and He has already ruled! It.is.written.



References:

The Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth, so help me God.
1 John 4:8
1 Corinthians 6:8-10
1 Timothy 1:9-11

There are many happy, healthy, "normal" homosexuals.

May seem like a plain statement, but it is an important preface for this post. I now realize that not many Christians think this.

In posing a lighthearted statement to a few friends (and then to Facebook/ Twitter as a result) on whether there are extra-Biblical reasonings against homosexuality, I was amazed that all the responses attacked the three adjectives first listed in this post. Of course, homosexuals and "supporters of the god of love" chimed in quickly and were able to easily dismantle the weak arguments, but the stereotypical poison-tipped arrows continued to stream in -- yet all arrows were only aimed at the adjectives happy-healthy-normal.

Disciples, we have to abandon such biased and belittling extra-Biblical presentations against homosexuality if we are to be used as effective tools in reaching our generation (and I include myself in the humble rebuke, because I would have been prone to many of the arguments if I weren't the one posing the question).

     Not all homosexuals are "torn, depressed, discontent or sexually confused."
     Not all homosexuals are "HIV-infected, disease-ridden, promiscuous, or prone to STDs."
     Not all homosexuals are "abnormal, uncomfortable, unloved, or being rejected by society."

In fact, most are not. And even those that are unhappy and unhealthy are no worse off than a larger percentage of heterosexuals and even Christians who fit that criterion. I have many girls in my smallgroup and discipleship circle that struggle/struggled with homosexuality, and I can be a witness that many were happy, healthy, and normal. They were in satisfying long-term same-sex relationships. They never contracted any diseases. And they were part of a very large and accepted population in their city.

Needless to say, searching for happiness, health, or "normalcy" was not what lead them to Christ. Change, Christ, or any other type of Conversion was the last thing on their agenda or radar. They were "loved, liberated and living it up!"

And then came the cross.

Oh, that old rugged cross.

So despised by the world, yet it continues to attract the "happy, healthy, and normal” to itself. That old rugged cross that can humble even the best of men to wretched rags, like an arrogant beggar put before a mirror for the first time. That old rugged cross that reduces happiness to NOTHING in the face of holiness, and a Holy God.

As one of my smallgroup girls told me about a year ago - it is not happiness that keeps her from going back to the homosexual relationships, or worldliness for matter. The "happiness" door of opportunity will always be open. However, it’s not even an option after encountering Christ because God himself has given her a heart transplant and renewed taste buds that thirst after holiness alone; a tall order that happiness can never fill. A renewed appetite for intimacy and righteousness, only satisfied by Christ and the inheritance that he shares with those that pick up the cross (mercy, grace, sonship, and the best of all - His very Spirit).

Saints, let's continue to run with the blood-stained banner alone in the race to win souls for Christ. And let us throw off the weight of secular morality and our own subjective opinions. Intellect never transformed Saul to Paul, but intersecting the cross on the Damascus road did. A man can never lead himself or others to God, but we are all left dependent on His Spirit alone to save us and those around us. The cross alone is our only confidence, our only boast, our only hope .......and an incorruptible hope at that.

Sad or happy, homosexual or not, PRAYING with perseverance and power for specific family and friends will lead them to Christ faster than any assumptions or persuasion about their sexuality.

*Memo to self ;-)



References
Romans 3:10
Acts 26:9-18
Ephesians 1:18
Hebrews 3:6
1 Peter 3:15
John 6:44