What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. [James 2:14-17, NRSV]
Serving in the name of Christ is NOT an option for LGBT Christians, it is an absolute necessity. If we really believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, this kind of love has to have an effect on us. It should motivate us to love others with the same kind of self-sacrificing love that Jesus showed us.
The big question for all of us to answer is "What does loving service look like?" I believe it is different for each and every one of us since God has gifted us in many different ways. For some, it is serving people through practical ways such as becoming a mentor for a troubled gay teen or volunteering at the local food pantry for AIDS patients. For others, it is serving people through advocacy efforts such as working with groups such as the Human Rights Campaign or writing to our elected officials in local, state and national government. Still others, serve people through creative routes such as song writing and art which are aimed at changing people's perceptions of the world around them.
The trick to finding the right kind of service we should be involved in is matching our greatest gifts with the world's deepest needs. When we do this this, our service will be powerful and passionate. It will shine brightly because we are doing the kind of work we really care about instead of doing work we think we're supposed to do because it's "good for us."
Serve passionately my LGBT brothers and sisters. Care creatively. Together we can make a beautiful difference in the world around us.
0 comments:
Post a Comment