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This was written by a friend of mine, Jennifer Jones, and I wanted to post it here on my blog because it's so good! Facebook has deleted it from every place that she posted it, as well as from anyone else's page who shared it. That is unacceptable! So, here is folks. Read it, share it, post it on Facebook if you'd like!! Now, I'm giving the floor to Jennifer:
My original post from 2013 began with a paragraph or two about Phil Robertson and his comments in GQ on marriage. I've deleted those as they're not relevant. However, I do mention him throughout as it relates to his paraphrasing of 1 Corinthians 6. The article in Buzzfeed and the author's intentions about the Gaines and their church's teaching on homosexuality is what reminded me of my original post (from 2013). This post (today's reposting of original) was deleted earlier, so I also cut out the paragraph about Chip and Joanna (darling family)...wasn't much, but I thought this time I'll just get right to it. Here it is... How come every time a line is drawn people (including some Christians) throw down the "Judgement" card? If I choose to have the Bible as the foundation of my faith, I can't omit scriptures that might be offensive. And just because I draw a line, can I not love, too? If my child does something wrong and I say, "You can't do that. That's wrong." Does that mean I don't love them? No. It does not. So I can quote scriptures like the one Phil did in Corinthians {1 Cor. 6:9-10} and love at the same time. I can draw a line against certain behaviors and love at the same time. Just because I, or any other Christian, quotes a Scripture that plainly states a particular activity is a sin, doesn't mean we're judging people and that we're full of hate. Now, about that scripture. Christians didn't lump murderers {again referencing Phil's comments} in with homosexuals; God did. Some would say that's so wrong and mean and how can you serve a God that does that? Well, I'll tell you how. Imagine you're sitting at a table across from God, and you're holding a bunch of cards with labels on them. Sitting in the middle of the table there's a bucket that says "BIG SINS." You begin to drop cards into the bucket: Anger, Murder, Homosexuality, Rape, Adultery, Pornography, and so on. You drop these cards in the bucket, very satisfied and turn to get up. But...God says," Where are you going? You're still holding some cards there." You reply, "Yes, but these are 'little sins,’ Lord. They are not very bad." He says, "Really? Let me see them." So you sit back down, and show Him your cards. He begins to drop them into the bucket. You Gasp. "What are You doing, Lord? Those aren't 'BIG SINS.’ Those are things I've done before." He says, “I know. Let's look at this one here: Gossip. What did I say in Proverbs about gossiping? I believe I said 'I hate it.' Let's look at another one: Fearful. Revelations says the fearful are the first ones cast into the lake of fire after judgment. What about unforgiveness? You know those people that have talked about you and said evil things about you? Do you love them?" If this were me having this conversation, I would have to say, "No, Lord, I do not love them." And He would say, "OK, then we have to drop Unforgiveness into the bucket." While looking at all the cards in the bucket you say, "Wow. So, You're lumping some of the things I've done in with murderers? You're comparing me to all those other really bad people and the really bad things they've done?" And He says, "Yes. I am. My Word says 'ALL have sinned' uncategorically." Thankfully the conversation doesn't end here, and this is what I would like for every homosexual to understand. They don't have to accept it or believe it, just understand it. So, to the homosexual I want to finish the conversation. God says, "What if we take this bucket that you're carrying around, this bucket full of sins, and move it away?" As soon as He does this, there's an offer on the table that we can now see because the bucket is gone. This offer is in the shape of a cross and it's drenched in blood. God stands up, extends His arms and says, "This offer is available to you, to everyone. Come here Murderer, Raper, Homosexual, Unforgiver, Fearful, Gossiper, Liar, Greedy, Self-Righteous, Violent, Prideful, Prostitute, Fornicator, etc. I don't care what sin is in your bucket, bring it to me." We pause because the offer is appealing. The idea of not carrying around cards with labels on them -- labels that we're guilty of, labels that can become our identity -- is appealing. The choice is totally and completely ours to make. He merely extends His mercy to us. If we accept the offer, we have to crawl through the blood drenched cross, and, then, we can sit down next to Him. At this point, He says, "My, Child, a new Scripture applies to you now. My Word says, 'And such WERE some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ...’" 1 Cor. 6:11. So you see homosexual person, I'm not condemning you; rather, I'm just like you. I'm a sinner, too. I believe homosexuality is a sin just like I believe lying is a sin. I believe these things because the Bible is the foundation for my faith and the Bible says these things are sins. The only difference between me and you is this: I accepted the offer...
My original post from 2013 began with a paragraph or two about Phil Robertson and his comments in GQ on marriage. I've deleted those as they're not relevant. However, I do mention him throughout as it relates to his paraphrasing of 1 Corinthians 6. The article in Buzzfeed and the author's intentions about the Gaines and their church's teaching on homosexuality is what reminded me of my original post (from 2013). This post (today's reposting of original) was deleted earlier, so I also cut out the paragraph about Chip and Joanna (darling family)...wasn't much, but I thought this time I'll just get right to it. Here it is... How come every time a line is drawn people (including some Christians) throw down the "Judgement" card? If I choose to have the Bible as the foundation of my faith, I can't omit scriptures that might be offensive. And just because I draw a line, can I not love, too? If my child does something wrong and I say, "You can't do that. That's wrong." Does that mean I don't love them? No. It does not. So I can quote scriptures like the one Phil did in Corinthians {1 Cor. 6:9-10} and love at the same time. I can draw a line against certain behaviors and love at the same time. Just because I, or any other Christian, quotes a Scripture that plainly states a particular activity is a sin, doesn't mean we're judging people and that we're full of hate. Now, about that scripture. Christians didn't lump murderers {again referencing Phil's comments} in with homosexuals; God did. Some would say that's so wrong and mean and how can you serve a God that does that? Well, I'll tell you how. Imagine you're sitting at a table across from God, and you're holding a bunch of cards with labels on them. Sitting in the middle of the table there's a bucket that says "BIG SINS." You begin to drop cards into the bucket: Anger, Murder, Homosexuality, Rape, Adultery, Pornography, and so on. You drop these cards in the bucket, very satisfied and turn to get up. But...God says," Where are you going? You're still holding some cards there." You reply, "Yes, but these are 'little sins,’ Lord. They are not very bad." He says, "Really? Let me see them." So you sit back down, and show Him your cards. He begins to drop them into the bucket. You Gasp. "What are You doing, Lord? Those aren't 'BIG SINS.’ Those are things I've done before." He says, “I know. Let's look at this one here: Gossip. What did I say in Proverbs about gossiping? I believe I said 'I hate it.' Let's look at another one: Fearful. Revelations says the fearful are the first ones cast into the lake of fire after judgment. What about unforgiveness? You know those people that have talked about you and said evil things about you? Do you love them?" If this were me having this conversation, I would have to say, "No, Lord, I do not love them." And He would say, "OK, then we have to drop Unforgiveness into the bucket." While looking at all the cards in the bucket you say, "Wow. So, You're lumping some of the things I've done in with murderers? You're comparing me to all those other really bad people and the really bad things they've done?" And He says, "Yes. I am. My Word says 'ALL have sinned' uncategorically." Thankfully the conversation doesn't end here, and this is what I would like for every homosexual to understand. They don't have to accept it or believe it, just understand it. So, to the homosexual I want to finish the conversation. God says, "What if we take this bucket that you're carrying around, this bucket full of sins, and move it away?" As soon as He does this, there's an offer on the table that we can now see because the bucket is gone. This offer is in the shape of a cross and it's drenched in blood. God stands up, extends His arms and says, "This offer is available to you, to everyone. Come here Murderer, Raper, Homosexual, Unforgiver, Fearful, Gossiper, Liar, Greedy, Self-Righteous, Violent, Prideful, Prostitute, Fornicator, etc. I don't care what sin is in your bucket, bring it to me." We pause because the offer is appealing. The idea of not carrying around cards with labels on them -- labels that we're guilty of, labels that can become our identity -- is appealing. The choice is totally and completely ours to make. He merely extends His mercy to us. If we accept the offer, we have to crawl through the blood drenched cross, and, then, we can sit down next to Him. At this point, He says, "My, Child, a new Scripture applies to you now. My Word says, 'And such WERE some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ...’" 1 Cor. 6:11. So you see homosexual person, I'm not condemning you; rather, I'm just like you. I'm a sinner, too. I believe homosexuality is a sin just like I believe lying is a sin. I believe these things because the Bible is the foundation for my faith and the Bible says these things are sins. The only difference between me and you is this: I accepted the offer...
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