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Thankful for a World Open to Homosexuality March 2, 2009 By Rachael
Hartman Thank God for
a world that is open to homosexuality because, “Moreover
the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded,
grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20). Without the law we
would not know what sin is, and without sin we would not know what
grace is. It
may seem strange to you that I have learned to thank God for a world
that is open to homosexuality; let me assure you that I have not
always thought this way. My understanding has been developing for
years, and God is not finished yet. The Real Pain of Sin Since
I was a child, I have known about the hurt and pain caused by the
sin of homosexuality. I have heard stories about pastors arrested
in gay bars who then had to inform their wives and resign their
churches before the newspapers released the news. I know wives and
children who were left brokenhearted and psychologically destroyed
when their husbands left them for another man. I know women who
were lonely and looked for intimacy in other women, both emotionally
and physically. The
stories are real and so is the pain that sin has left; there is
no justification for what happened in each of these lives I've glimpsed
into. They all claimed to be Christians, even Apostolics, but were
bound in their hidden sin to the point of leading double lives and
destroying families. And
then there are children--children terrorized by perverted, sinful
adults who molest them, sometimes it is even their parents, that
rape them repeatedly. Boys by their fathers, girls by their mothers--every
situation applies. Sometimes these children are so young they can
not even tell their story, they do not know the words to describe
what has happened to them as they sit in a counselor's office after
CPS has rescued them. It is unthinkable, detestable, what has happened
and what is happening to many pure ones in our world today. Sin Revealed Brings Healing But
in the face of all of this, I have learned to thank God for a world
that is open to homosexuality, because when the world starts talking
about the sin that has been hidden for years, and God begins to
reveal truth, and pour His oil of healing into wounds, then people
begin to be delivered, healed and restored. People who truly believe
in God want to be restored, no matter how deep their sin may be.
There
is no satisfaction in sin. There is no true joy, intimacy, or peace
in sin. For years we have heard that the pleasure of sin is “but
for a season” (Hebrews 11:24). Sin brings a short-term release,
a temporary physiological rest; it is a coping method to deal with
the weightier stressors of daily life, as well as the invisible
unknowns such as death, judgment, and eternity. Sinners focus on
the here and now, what can get them through the day, and this portion
of their lives, anything but think about eternity, and God's law.
As one of the other writers in this conversation has said, homosexuality
is a sin, just like alcoholism, drug addiction, and any other kind
of addictive behavior. There is no life in sin, no future, no hope
when our faith is in a Holy God and His Word. Sexuality
is an obvious target for the enemy of our souls. Sexuality is the
core of who we are as humans. Our names, our roles, our socialization,
pretty much everything is based on our sex. When sin creeps into
this area of a soul, everything about the person is affected because
the basic drives (emotions, nerves, hormones, chemicals in the brain)
are awakened, and the person feels “alive”. Compound instant gratification
with secretiveness and a serious and perhaps lifelong stronghold
develops that drives a person to pursue a lifestyle centered on
their sin, whether that sin is homosexuality, pedophilia, bestiality,
pornography, or anything else that a human can derive to satisfy
their “needs”. Targeting Sexuality As
the church of the True and Living God, we must press on into the
Spirit of God, for there is power in prayer. If we are going to
be ready to meet people where they are, and lead them into a place
of healing and restoration, then we must be equipped with our own
healing, salvation, and stable relationship in Christ--the kind
that comes only through prayer and fasting. Too many Apostolics
are living in sexual impurity of the heterosexual nature; they don't
have a grasp of what true purity is, and therefore they have not
progressed to the level of understanding needed in order to offer
hope to homosexuals. Add fear to the mixture, and reaching out to
homosexuals is basically unheard of in the Apostolic world.
I
believe it is time for the church to stop being afraid to talk about
sex and God's plan for sexuality. After all, how can we minister
to a world that is no longer satisfied with heterosexual pursuits,
if the church is too afraid to talk about the real and honest needs
of pretty much every human (heterosexuals)? The church must find
new ways of promoting God's plan for sexuality; to equip children
and youth along with adults with the understanding of God's plan
for pure minds, pure hearts, and pure bodies and committed marriage
relationships between one man and one woman. When we have strong
and stable families, then we will have strong churches, and then
we will have the strength and power we need to offer a community
of hope to those struggling with homosexuality. In other words,
we need to start viewing sexuality not as something dirty, but as
a source of strength and stability that God has created to keep
His people in balance with one another in marriage. Muslim
extremists use sexuality to further their cause. Think about it,
they take young boys who have not yet reached puberty, train them
in all male youth camps, and promise them 100 virgins in heaven
as a reward for dying for Islam. Most of the boys that start out
don't even know what a virgin is, they are so young. The boys grow
into men, isolated from girls and women. They are taught that women
should cover themselves from head to toe. These men have the same
struggles that American men have with sexuality, but they have not
been exposed to the various “coping methods” that Americans have.
They are driven by physiological forces that they do not understand;
all they know is that they would rather die than continue living
with the pressure. And the women, bound and lonely would rather
die than continue living in emotional isolation. There you have
it, willing human bombs - ready to explode from the inside out.
Sexuality
that is not lived out according to God's plan for absolute purity
in and out of marriage is the source of great frustration, confusion,
and unquenchable lust--whether it be homosexual or heterosexual
in nature. In conclusion, I want to say that I appreciated Nichole
Rogers' and Joel Riley's writings on the topic of homosexuality
this week. I think we need more discussion about this topic, and
that the points that these two writers have brought out are valid,
Christ-centered, and practical. Today is a new day; our American
culture is opening up and talking about things they have hidden
for years. This is our world; it is up to us to reach it. © 2009, Rachael
Hartman Rachael Hartman is currently a grad student studying Counseling and Community Development in Southeast Texas. She recently started a business called The Grammar Queen, providing editorial consulting and writing services.
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