Thursday, December 10, 2015

I Do Not Have Good News

Do you remember Jeremiah the prophet in the Old Testament? He spent his entire life in service to God as His warning buoy among the people of Judah. His entire ministry was spent informing the people of God's impending justice if they failed to repent of their ways. And let me tell you, these were an evil people. They would sell their brethren into slavery for a pair of sandals. They worshiped other gods in Yahweh's temple. They had both male and female temple prostitutes. They charged the poor among them extreme amounts of usury for small loans. They also regularly ignored the laws of their God, obeying only the rituals.

It was in their minds that as long as they sacrificed regularly to Yahweh, they could get away with anything since they were His people. It was the Old Testament version of cheap grace. And it's true. The Lord was very patient with them. He warned them through Jeremiah and other prophets time and time again not to engage lawless behavior and to repent. His pleas were ignored. Jeremiah was ignored. Jeremiah had no good news for his people and they hated him. Hence judgement was inevitable.

Jeremiah spent his entire life preaching these warnings. He had no results really to show for his efforts and yet God used him for decades. I kind of understand Jeremiah. I have no good news for anyone that is facing a lifetime of same sex attraction. All I can offer is an appeal to trust God and an  encouragement to change behavior. It is a tough path to navigate for those so challenged. I cannot offer a cure nor permission for behavior by those so challenged. What I can offer is a life with the Lord that might be different from what average believers experience. Exploration of the spiritual can be a fulfilling adventure. Finding Him in daily events is even more interesting. I have, in the last two years become more attuned to Him in some ways. I can't really find words to explain it. It's like I am more aware of His presence. It's like having an invisible friend that is real. What else can I say?

If you know Him, love Him, and He will love you back. His mercy and grace are limitless and when you experience it, you will want to give back to Him in love and obedience. Relationship with your Creator is a precious thing. It's what He wanted from the beginning. It's the best thing I have found to this point in my life.

So maybe I do have some good news. What do you think?