One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” It reminds me that Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, understands my struggle. As I am tempted, I can look to the throne of grace where my great High Priest sympathizes with my weakness. What a baffling and glorious truth that God in flesh can look at my struggle and can honestly say, “I know what you’re going through.”
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I believe homosexuality is a sin.
In today's culture, that statement sounds as backward and narrow-minded as if I said, "I'm pro-slavery" or "women shouldn't vote." When viewed through the lens of today's culture, a stance against homosexuality is synonymous with homophobia. More than just backward and narrow-minded, it's considered hateful and evil. When my husband and I got engaged, two particular sentiments dominated the congratulatory discussions - the “Oh, you’re going to love marriage, it’s so wonderful. Such a blessing” comments, and there were also the “Get ready. It’s not as easy as it seems” comments.
As we’re rounding the corner of eighteen months and wrapping up our newlywed status, I’ve found that both are true (at least so far). Marriage has been so, so sweet! It does also take work, but not because my husband is difficult – because I am. Thankfully, the Bible has plenty to say regarding our sinful tendencies as newlywed wives, and how to turn those into opportunities to grow. These pithy nuggets of practical wisdom in Proverbs have been a great help to me and can help us shape us into “excellent wives” who are “crowns” to our husbands rather than “rottenness to [their] bones” (Proverbs 12:4). “Christian liberty.”
What does that bring to your mind? Perhaps you’re thinking of those facebook debates over the Christian’s use of alcohol or arguments over personal standards. Perhaps it conjures bitter memories of judgmental Christians and legalistic churches. What if, when we thought of Christian liberty, it brought to mind ideas such as “love,” “God’s glory,” and “service”? Christians have idols that we love to hate, at least superficially, like materialism or pride. For some reason these are the idols that are the ones that typically get the “amens” and “that’ll preach” comments when the pastor serves up a message about them. But for some reason, there are certain idols that we just love to love. Were the pastor to preach on an inordinate love of conservative politics, or the American dream, or the nuclear family I’d venture a guess that we wouldn’t hear as many “amens” during that sermon. Yet, even the good and well-intentioned things that we do as Christ-followers can become idols if we allow them become so prominent that Christ loses His preeminence in our lives.
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