This morning I started reading the DesiringGod post from John Piper (http://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/how-often-should-we-voice-our-views-on-homosexuality-online) and I had a full thought come blasting into my brain. I have this venue here so I'll use it.
My responsibility as a Christian is to be a human being that lives rightly, loves unconditionally, and speaks truth in love. I say "human being" because these words bring to mind a picture of God's magnificent creation, mankind. Being a member of that creation I want to represent it in the most mature and thoughtful way. I want to steward my humanity as a reflection of God's divinity. I want to show how great God is by responsibly living my life as a human who loves his neighbor as himself.
Living rightly encompasses that kind of attitude and humility. I want to be a gracious, kind, person. What I've learned over the years is I'm not equipped to do that alone. God has to work on my faults, sins, attitudes, and failings through prayer, my wife and my church. To represent Christ I need to be fixed.
Loving unconditionally includes loving those who might be living a life in opposition to God's way of living. I love my wife, my kids, my friends and neighbors but I love them in different ways. I show them different degrees of intimacy and vulnerability. I show them God's love in much the same ways. The blog linked above talks about expressing your views on homosexuality on social media. In my opinion people should sparingly do that in any public forums. Talk with your friends, talk with your family, talk with strangers amicably. Don't condemn and chide those you barely know, with opinions or even scripture. God made each person unique. Each person has struggles unique to their life. Telling someone they are wrong serves no purpose but to spread hate and cause division.
Speaking the truth in love is what we should do, but not on social media. Do it in person. Do it on the phone. Do it in writing, on actual paper. Be connected and grow closer to those you disagree with by expressing your opinions openly in a way where they will be able to express theirs back. Your life is meant to reflect Christ's and Christ died for expressing his love openly, and in a way where others could express their opinions back. We aren't to be any different.
This brings me back to my responsibility. My picture of the human being I should be. I should be a loving husband, a devoted father, a close friend, a good neighbor. I have sometimes failed in those spheres. My actions should come out of love and not out of what cheese burger I did or did not eat. I need to picture the beautiful, eternal, perfect creation that God intended when he made mankind and rely on God's grace and strength to mold me. Shaping a lump of clay like me into that requires time, attention and love. God has infinite amounts of all of those.
God, please bring my life, bit by bit, toward the picture you intended it to be.
