Sex and Catacombs

Hey everyone,

There's been an abundance of all sorts of sex talk on the sub recently, debates about affirmation and whatnot, and I wanted to take a moment to share my thoughts on this subject, as this is something that affects people deeply, and can tend to form rifts and barriers in communities (often inadvertently).

The natural reaction I think many of us have is an all-or-nothing attitude, and if the opposing party doesn't agree with my conclusions, it's because they're stupid/paranoid/deluded/sinful - full stop. There's a tendency especially to define ourselves and others exclusively by sexuality. Sexuality becomes identity, and identity is where I want to start in all this.

I want to start here because it's become plain to me that one of the first things God does when he touches lives is He provides people with a new identity. It's not an identity that they've been handed down by their family, forced into by their culture, or even something they've told themselves over the years. These are false identities that all fall short of what God intends for us, but which often bring us to a point where we collide head-to-head with God.

That's the heart of the Gospel, right there. God is in the process of transforming you, and all of creation, into what he intends, and He does that through confrontation. I'm not talking violence or coercion, but displays of truth and power. The potter is molding the clay. Jesus speaks, and his words cut straight to the heart. Jesus looks, and he sees us as we are. But it doesn't stop there! Jesus sees us as we should be as well, and helps us to get there.

Biblical examples abound: Jesus calls to Simon, and names him Peter. Jesus appears to Saul, and blinds him into Paul. Jacob, the scheming thief wrestles with God, and God blesses him as Israel.

There's a tendency in straight people to say, "I'm okay as is. There's nothing I need to change because I was made right the first time around."

There's a tendency among gay people to say, "God made me this way. How can he expect me to change?"

The variations abound, but the heart of the matter is a resistance to God's change.

And in that resistance is an aversion to God's very real and present voice, because we don't want to change. Right now, for all you know, God may be calling you to singleness, whether you be gay or straight, for the rest of your life, and that's simply something you with your current identity doesn't want to hear. And because you don't hear, you go and bind yourself into a relationship or circumstances that God doesn't intend for you.

And then you wonder why things aren't good. You wonder why you can't hear God, or why He hasn't blessed you. You wonder when you're going to reach that point of peace. You wonder...

The truth is this: if you're not reflecting daily upon if and how God is trying to transform you, then you don't really know the power and presence of God. Salvation isn't a moment of revelation, where you say a prayer and then it's finished. It's a lifetime of revelation and transformation!

Romans 12:2 says:

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

(Emphasis mine).

Did you catch it?

This is a conditional verse. If you're all caught up; if you can't spend time in prayer and worship, if you can't spend time in reading and learning, you will not be able to discern God's will! Unless you empty yourself of all things; all cares, all passions, all worries, all obligations, and utterly surrender them... You can't discern God's will.

And if God is incapable of transforming you, why are you worshiping him? If you don't know the answers to those questions, then perhaps you need to take some time, forgoing all other things, and wait upon the Lord until you can hear his voice and commands for your life.

What identity is God GIVING you today?