A Step Forward
Here at Evergreen we want to learn how to love our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters. We have been journeying through this for the past couple of months. Now we have come to a place of moving forward. What does it mean for us to move forward? What does a step forward look like?
At our most recent All Community Gathering, Derik and Elijah helped answer this question. We were pointed to think about how we are called to live. According to Galatians 5:13, we are called to be free and to serve one another humbly in love. Pastor Derik walked us through the passage of Gal. 5:13-6:10 to remind us what it means to live and walk by the spirit and not by the flesh.
Gal. 5:19-21 - The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
We are called to live differently. There are three behaviors that Pastor Derik called out in the church. He called out selfish ambition, hatred, and idolatry. Selfish ambition encompasses our own desires and apathy. We are summoned to get our head out of the sand. Cannot ignore people in the way that we have been doing it. We must acknowledge them and pay attention to them. There are real people with real lives, wrestling with God. How can we walk alongside our brothers and sisters in a gracious way?
Hatred is mainly defined as a strong dislike for something or someone. This has been our emotion and attitude toward so many people, including the LGBTQ+ community. it is time to reflect and speak out our conscious and unconscious biases. What are our hidden thoughts? How do we perceive people who are different than us? What does it look like to begin to see people and acknowledge them as persons?
Idolatry is when we elevate good things into gods. It is when we worship these more things than when we worship God. We have made idols of sex and marriage. We have let these completely take over in our lives. We do his in our secular spaces, and side A spaces. We have neglected to value the significance of both marriage and singleness. Their purposes may look differently, but it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be valued equally. How have we made sex and marriage idols in our own lives?
In regard to these three areas, Elijah encouraged us to think about our presence and how we act around other people. Sometimes we around other people who make rude, homophobic jokes and comments. But, what would it look like to stop that by choosing to not stay silent in those moments? How can we be a safe space to others? How can we bring people towards Christ by walking with them in their spiritual discovery? The one thing we must remember about all of this is this:
You are made in the Image of God and others are also made in His Image.
Reflection:
What challenged you about this conversation?
How do you see the need to grow in this conversation?