Ready To Receive The Refugees July 19, 2015
Last week Iwrote that Christians can see beneath the surface of the apparent victoryrecently achieved by the Sexual Revolution. The SCOTUS’s decision requiring allstates to allow gay marriage appears, at least to some, to have finally andfully banished repressive religious sexual ethics to the Dark Ages from whencethey came. Once and for all, thanks to the progressive-minded majority on ourSupreme Court and the bravery of key advocates for the GLBT cause, Americahas at last been brought in to a better world that affirms all that is bestabout human life—namely, love, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s amassive triumph for love-valuing, life-affirming, fair-minded peopleeverywhere!
At leastthat’s how the narrative goes.
ButChristians know better. We know God’s commands are good, not simply because Heis the one commanding them; rather, we know He commands them because they aregood. Human beings think they want the freedom and novelty and titillation Godforbids. But actually, what really satisfies are complementarities andfaithfulness and self-sacrificing love. We who love and believe and obey theBible know this. And so we know what’s coming: a crisis of refugees fleeing aSexual Revolution which just couldn’t keep its promises (hat tip to RussellMoore for this great metaphor).
When therefugees start to flee, some will come to our church for answers. And we willbe ready.
We’ll beready, that is, as long as we’ve not surrendered our own convictions. Jesuswasn’t the least bit shy about sin. He didn’t try to get people to follow Himfirst, and then later tell them the hard stuff about changing their lives. Yes,He was gracious, but He was also nervy—“nervy,” as in, He had a way of shovinga white-hot poker into people’s most tender nerve (cf. John 4:16 with the womanat the well, Matthew 19:21 with the rich young ruler).
We’ll alsobe ready, if and only if we are angry about and wary of our own sin more thantheirs. Only if we remember that the gospel is for sinners like us. Only if weremember that we were refugees once, too. Only if, when someone asks, “Would itbe possible for a repentant homosexual to join your church?” we happily answer,“Heck, yeah! They even let ME join this church!”