Tuesday, April 08, 2008

 

Oh Darn

Backwoods Presbyterian reprints a story on the continued slide of my denomination into meaninglessness. This concerns THE hot topic in our church today, the ordination of practicing, non-celibate homosexuals. Yes, this measures another breakdown in the church structure as individual prebyteries go their own way on the issue - we seek to be a denomination and become a convention. There is value to denominations and hierarchical structures, and I have discussed that before.

But there is something even deeper that concerns me gravely - it is the change in emphasis that this represents. Something like this fundamentally changes what the church does. Instead of being an organization designed to foster transformation into something better, we have become an organization that seeks to validate even our depraved state.

This so cheapens Christ's sacrifice and to make me almost physically ill, but further it completely ignores the power and impact of the resurrection. Yes, Christ died because he loves us just the way we are - but He was resurrected because He loves us so much that He wants us to be fully that which we were created to be - he wants to transform us.

Love that accepts me just the way I am is pretty cheap love. But love that wishes the best for me, that is love that is deep and abiding and true. Love that is willing to sacrifice so that I may achieve that best - well that only comes around once in history.

I shiver between deep sorrow for the failure to see this point that these actions represent and anger at the fact that this more-or-less spits on the empty tomb of the Risen Lord.

Now, of course, I am "homophobic" and perhaps even a "gay-hater." Sorry folks, I am neither. If you are gay, I love you more than you will ever know. I love you enough to hope and pray fervently that you will experience the transformative power that I have. No, I am not gay, never have been, but I am a sinner and I am frought with desires and needs that are wrong and evil and misdirected, and I have succumb to them.

But I have been blest with the grace of the Risen Lord and that grace allows me to overcome, if I but let it.

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