Courage and Contending-Part 3

Author: Andrew Comiskey
January 14, 2013
‘I urge you to contend for the faith’…in light of those ‘who change the grace of God into a license for sexual immorality.’ (Jude 3, 4)

We must activate and aim the Gospel of Jesus Christ toward those whose same-sex attraction has morphed into the ‘gay self’ and beyond. Lives are at stake. Having opted out of a male/female requirement for sexual–relating, a generation now champions ‘post-gay’ sexual minorities. According to the NY Times, the now standard ‘GLBT’ banner has evolved to ‘LGBTQQIAA’, which shall expand its borders continuously to include new gender ‘identities’ clamoring for recognition.

It’s no longer about changing sexual partners; it’s about changing your own gender identity. The letter in the ‘LGBT…’ alphabet soup that defined you today may change tomorrow. Or you may be the first to add a new entry to the mix.

That’s precisely the point: gender identity is now defined by an utter lack of definition. Anyone who challenges such ‘freedom’, including ‘old school’ gays and lesbians, need to lighten up. What emerges is a chilling fragmentation of being. A self-defined ‘bi-gender’ mused: ‘Some days I wake up and think: “Why am I in this body?’ Most days I wake up and think: “What was I thinking yesterday?”’

Not only does the emperor have not clothes, (s)he has no gender.

Still, Jesus thinks of her; He thinks of him. The Creator and Redeemer of all has vision and purpose for the gender identity of every child. He made him and her and is intent on redeeming them according to His image. In spite of our fragmentation, He holds all things together, including the pieces of our ‘gender selves’. (Col. 1:17)

Our goal as Christians is to provide places of encounter for Creator and confused child. He alone can become the catalyst for the new and true self, which has profound implications for our identities as male and female.

I recall a young boy, 4-years-old, whose Mexican parents brought him to me at church one day. He showed signs of refusing to identify as a male. So after church every Sunday, the boy and I, with parents nearby, would talk about how Jesus made us boys (or girls) and how He loves the many different ways boys express themselves. I blessed and affirmed the strong and loving little boy he was. I started to bring little cars and trucks for us to play with as we talked. One Sunday I asked the dad to come over and he began to play with us too.

The kid needed Jesus. And he needed to know that his identity as a boy was good in God’s eyes and in his dad’s eyes.

Christians must become good news for adult children who are harassed and helpless because they have no shepherd. Jesus’ love is our guide. He alone is the key to reorienting lives around our Maker and our own true selves, made in His image, male and female.

‘And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth  of insight, so that you may discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Jesus Christ…’ (Phil. 1: 9, 10)
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