I Am What I Am

By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. [1 Corinthians 15:10, NRSV]

There is a strange notion in some Christian circles that we need to be perfect. Nothing could be further from the truth! In fact, we're all a bit of a mess! Martin Luther, a church theologian who definitely thought outside of the box, said that we are "simultaneously saint and sinner." By this he meant that we are a mixture of good and bad, triumphs and struggles. Nobody is all good or all bad. We're a jumbled mix of both.

Armed with this truth, it is important that we do not totally demonize those who try to speak out against LGBT Christians. I know it's hard to do, but we are called to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us [Jesus' words, not mine! See Matthew 5:43-44]. We are called to see the good that is inside of them, even though it is sometimes hard to do.

Martin Luther King Jr. [the other Luther] once said that "love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend." I believe King knew what he was talking about. And so we are challenged to love those who try to put us down in order that they might be transformed by God's love.

The flip side of this equation, however, is that we should NEVER remain silent when someone says we are going to hell simply because of our sexual identity. We are baptized children of God, just like they are. God's grace towards us has NOT been in vain and we claim our place at table with no apologies or reservations. We will love our enemies, but we will NOT allow ourselves to become spiritual doormats.

How are you feeling today? Think about those who have persecuted you in the past and pray that God will to heal their spiritual blindness and fill their hearts with love.