I was listening to a TV televangelist this morning who said, paraphrased, "If you love your country, Christian, you'll do everything in your power to stomp out this horrible, evil disease called 'gay marriage.' It will be the same as attacking Satan himself. God requires this of you. If you remain silent, you are as good as participating in the sin. And it's our biggest challenge in this present age. Don't mess with God. His wrath will be pored out upon you just like it will be to those who mock him, both in the press and in the halls of state houses around the country."
It would be interesting to find out how many people who heard him believed him and will take up the banner of fear and hatred against the LGBT communities around the U.S. It hearkens back to the 1960s when, as a teenager, I used to hear ministers of every stripe--not just Southern ones--spewing messages of hatred against those who would give Black Americans equal rights. They said that it would be the downfall of America as we know it, that the Bible supported separation of the races, that Blacks were not intellectually equal to Whites, that interracial marriage should remain illegal, that White kids and Black kids should go to separate schools, and on and on. Well, as we have seen, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not cause the downfall of the Union; if anything, it helped to solidify it even more.
And you women must once again be reminded that both the political and Christian mindset of the early 20th century declared that you were too emotional to vote with any intelligence or wisdom. You didn't get that right until August of 1920. And some still think the decision was a mistake, including not a few Christian women!
So, if you call yourself Christian, please pay heed to the Bible quote that opened this short article. Jesus, who lived during a very tough time in world history, had the Roman Empire as well as the Jewish authorities, breathing down his neck, was accused of heresy, treason, and anarchy against the State. Still, he said that the greatest law included loving neighbor as self. He stood by that proclamation even as he was led away to be executed on a Roman cross. His final words? Forgive them...
We are called to love. Simple. Clear. Unambiguous. Oh, we can justify ourselves for doing otherwise; we continually do. But in the long run, only love will satisfy. Only love will soothe. Only love will heal.
Take up a new banner, Christian--and any who would practice hatred against their fellows. Let it be love for all of your brothers and sisters, no matter the religion, the philosophy, the orientation, the nationality, the political persuasion. If God requires anything of you, it must be this: Love one another, even as I have loved you.
The Answer is simple. The decision to put love into practice is, as always, up to you.
Many people say God doesn't exist.Who put the desire in their hearts as well as our hearts that we should seek after Him.That is what Jesus did He claimed to be God in the flesh.
ReplyDeleteBimatoprost
Jesus said that we were the same as he, that we would do greater things than he did, that we were indeed gods ourselves. Those are his words, not mine. Therefore, if we are gods, let us prove it through our love.
ReplyDelete"Know ye not that ye are gods?" Jesus