It’s Pride Month

For the Church:

Poking around on social media one day, I came across a video of someone I knew speaking about all sorts of things I disagreed with. My initial reaction was something of shock, I can’t believe they believe this! Judgment, I can’t believe they are saying this. Offense, they’re attacking me. And dismissal, I can’t even listen to this. 

Except, I really like my friendship with this person. So I did keep listening. And I did keep watching. And I realized, we actually do agree on a lot of things. But we have differing opinions on the route to get there. Turns out, I can keep my friend. 

I get it, I’m guilty of reactive responses myself. And I tend to see a lot of this around Pride month and the growing transgender movement. But I’m not sure our defense and dismissals are helpful if they only fuel hostility. Rather, it becomes just as easy for us to grow as prideful in our morality as the pride and immorality of the world that we want to stand against. We might have some right answers, but if we don’t respond in wisdom, then we’re not fighting right. Our job isn’t to battle against people, we battle for people. For eternity. 

All individuals matter. All tribes, all religions, all orientations, all colors, all heights, all locations. All people matter, because all people were created by the same Good and Holy God. And all of us are sexual sinners. Jesus said that if we even look lustfully at someone, then we’ve committed adultery (Matthew 5:28). None of us have a morality leg up on anyone else. Even in responding to the gospel, it is only because of God’s positioning of our hearts. The Gospel brings us to utter humility in that we had nothing to offer and our lives to pay. Yet, Jesus rescued us and covered the cost at the expense of himself. 

A payment was due, because sin is real.

Not everything is right. Not everything is true. God is righteousness, and God is truth. And his Word spells out a very clear distinction between righteousness and wickedness. Life and death. Light and darkness. There is no overlap between these two kingdoms.

We do not live in a God-fearing society. We do not live in a God-fearing world. The people of God have always been the exception, called to live differently than the nations around them (Deuteronomy 7). But we weren’t chosen because we were great, we were chosen because God is great. His mercy is great. His faithfulness is great. He wants all of us to come to repentance, and he wants to use the Church to bring people in. 

In his book, The Magician’s Nephew, C.S. Lewis paints it like this:

“You see, friends,” (Aslan) said, “that before the new, clean world I gave you is seven hours old, a force of evil has already entered it; waked and brought hither by this son of Adam… And as Adam’s race has done the harm, Adam’s race shall help to heal it.”

God is so generous to allow us to have any part of his redemptive plan. Before Jesus ascends back into Heaven, he commands, “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18-19). We can’t sit silent. We need to speak up, and we need to offer truth.

But we can’t make disciples of Jesus if we’re only thinking of ourselves. When we, when I, start turning down our noses to people of different beliefs, we’ve lost sight of Him entirely. We’ve lost sight of the Gospel entirely. 

So maybe this has a lot less to do with the month of Pride and culture wars, and a lot more to do with the posture of the Church as a whole, the way we walk and live and listen. The way we believe God, and the way we give away this Gospel message that every one of us so desperately needs. 

For me, I could probably start with a little less time on social media and a little more time face to face with friends and neighbors of different beliefs, listening to the things they care about and establishing common ground. I could spend a little more time in prayer and in the Proverbs, growing in wisdom of when to open my mouth and what to say. And I surely could use all the help I can get, if anyone would choose to walk with me.

—–

Father,
You are Holy. You are so kind and patient towards us. And we can’t believe that you so eagerly welcome us into a relationship at such a high cost to yourself. Thank you for listening to us. Thank you for seeing us, for caring about us. I pray that you help us to go and do likewise. That your Church might be a people so floored by the mercy we’ve received that we can’t help but extend it.
I pray that you give us courage to stand up for your Word, your unchanging and life-giving truth. And I pray that you give us wisdom and thoughtfulness to know what that looks like. Show us how.
I pray that you transform our hearts. That you increase our desire for you, and that you help us to believe every word of the things you have said.
We praise you for knowing us, for loving us, and for giving us life, purpose and identity.
Amen

—–

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.
The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.
– Proverbs 15:1-3

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Sing: Echo Holy
Holy Forever

Read: Gay Girl, Good God, Jackie Hill Perry

Listen: How should Christians approach Pride month?
Is God Anti-Gay
Why does God care about who we sleep with?