Homophobic? I Think Not

According to my daughter and a lot of other people I am homophobic and I take issue with this. You should too, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ who understands our mission. I even have issues with the term "homophobic". What it is suppose to mean has nothing to do with a phobia but rather a hatred, but it doesn't even mean hatred any more. It has been used to label anyone who does not agree with homosexuality. It means I do not have a right to disagree, to have a different perspective from the homosexual community.

The reason this is a concern for Christians is because those who understand God's Word and stand by it are labelled as "haters" with the term homophobic. This flies in the face of what Jesus taught, what he has done for me and the transformation I have gone through. I have no desire to hate anyone and I have nothing but respect for human life, even if I disagree with what that human life is doing. I have a long list of things I disagree with:

I disagree with:
    - abortion
    - prostitution
    - domestic violence
    - child abuse
    - smoking
    - drunkenness
    - drugs
    - speeding
    - over-eating

The list goes on. Some of these things are very common and others no so much. Do I hate the people who do these things? No, I don't. I would show them compassion and grace because that is what I have received from my God. I have not walked in their shoes, I cannot judge them but neither do I support or encourage their behaviour. If they walked into my store or my church I would treat them with the same love and respect as I would anyone else; the same as I would treat a homosexual, even if I disagree with their choices.

I am not meaning this as a political statement but a spiritual one. I am not about to allow the false prince of this world to label me with something that doesn't fit. I am not a hater and by God's power never will be a hater. But I am pursuing God's righteousness, the One who has defined right and wrong for us. I cannot agree with homosexuality based on that righteousness. Because of his love for me and mine for him, I have no choice but to be obedient to his love, to what God has defined as right and wrong, and no human being can persuade we otherwise.

God's Word states, from the mouth of Jesus, "God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die." God loved us in our rebellious state so much that he sacrificed himself so we would not have to be punished. However, it does mean we have to walk away from our rebellion by the power he has given us in Jesus. But who am I not to love people in a fallen state when God sacrificed so much for these same people? But just as God does not accept the behaviour of our fallen state, either can the followers of Jesus Christ. This is at the foundation of our belief and the enemy will not rob me of this love by labeling me a "hater".

In this same Word that coneys God's love and the grace he is showing a rebellious world, we are warned that there is a limit; that there will be one day of judgement. We forget that just because we live in this age of grace and free will, does not mean there is no accountability. Remember the Words of Jesus:

Not everyone who calls me their Lord will get into the kingdom of heaven. Only the ones who obey my Father in heaven will get in. On the day of judgment many will call me their Lord. They will say, “We preached in your name, and in your name we forced out demons and worked many miracles.” But I will tell them, “I will have nothing to do with you! Get out of my sight, you evil people!” (Matthew 7:21-23)

And this is what we spend our days trying to convey to people. It is because we love them that we need to share the truth, to warn. They have the freedom to choose but we want to make sure that they understand there is a choice. If I refused to love them I would refuse to tell them the truth. It's like when someone is lost on drugs, they need to be confronted and told the truth. We don't abandon them, hate them, spit on them, call them names, but we don't withhold the truth either.

So I refuse the label of "homophobic" and any other label that our changing society wants to place on me. I am a child of God, a follower of Jesus, a bearer of the Light, a teller of the truth, a prophet of God's Word, a lover of sinners, detesting sin and longing for God's righteousness. Don't let the world bully you into anything less than what our Father has called you to be.