Saturday, March 26, 2011

Can you really pray away gay?


It's been almost 2 weeks since the documentary aired on the OWN Channel facilitated by Lisa Ling. Intriguing title, right? As a Christian, I was instantly enticed. As a human, I was curious about the dynamic of certain people's thought processes. Let me begin by saying that YES I do believe that you can pray the gay away. According to Scripture, not only can we "move mountains" but with faith the size of a muster seed, God can do ANYTHING. [Mark 11:22-24] & [Luke 17:6]

I did a previous post where I visited an art exhibit that focused on the GLBT community. It was...interesting, but could I ever say I understand what it's like to be gay? Hell no. Never. The place where we collide is when they make the bold decision to say, "I'm a Christian." In thought, this is a complete oxymoron, right? How can you be gay and be Christian? Wait, remember the story of Soddom and Gommorah? Don't you remember the Bible stating that man and man and woman and woman should not lie together?

TANGENT: Why is Christianity always singled about this? How come no one discusses this in other religions, and Yahweh (who is Christ in the New Testament) gets all the hate? If you have an answer, I'd love to talk with you.

Hmmm...it seems like a collision of extreme differences. I must admit. I don't see the courage in "coming out the closet". I see the courage in admitting you love God even if you run the risk of Him not loving you back (according to what gay-bashers believe). I've come to the conclusion that our relationship with God is different for each one of us. With the years of stigma against homosexuality, who would chose that life? I do not, necessarily, believe that ALL of them chose to go down this road. However, I do believe that God uses each one of us differently which is why we go down different paths in order to receive Him.

The core of the film made me realize a motif after observing the different lifestyles: (1) Prior gay man who was now married with two children (2) Gay man who used to condemn the lifestyle and eventually embraced it with a partner (3) Teens who are gay and found community in a camp that embraced them (4) Gay man who engulfed in the lifestyle and turned from it after visiting a church < The motif, common thread, I discovered in eahc of them was that...THAT EACH LOVED GOD!

I was entralled by their committment to still serve God regardless of the direction they went. I believe God speaks to each of us in His way, and I can't state that there's one sin that God hates more than another. I am aware that God's heart is broken when our heart is not with Him. Isaiah 29: 13 says, "The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men."

Yet, I identify with the Christians who sincerely believe that find no liking to the lifestyle or the decision to live it because in the end there's free will..which I agree. We must be mindful that as Christians/Non-Christians we cannot make others adopt our view. Their heart has to be drawn to God.

Towards the end of the film, one of the men mentioned that he believed that he didn't make up his mind that being gay was wrong...God did. Does he believe that a gay person can still go to Heaven? Why, yes. Why? Because he believed that God is more concerned with the matters of the heart.

Do I believe that being gay is wrong? I believe it's contradicting to what the Word says is the foundation of procreating and establishing a family is. It is a sin just like lying, adultery or dishonoring our parents. We just weren't made to do the things that God created a man and woman to do with the same sex. But more than anything, the Bible says that Jesus died that all who love Him with live with Him forever. The center of Christ is love when you chase after Him. And our purpose is to love the person not the sin. It is no different than anyone I know who is having issues with any other life choice.

But I actively encourage those who identify themselves as gay and struggling with the direction that God wants them to go to...PRAY! I believe that there is sincere power in prayer, and God is capable of doing ANYTHING if we chose to follow Him.

We're all fighting a battle trying to go the same way. I just figured I'd offer my honest opinion. This was a great documentary. If you are interested in viewing it, you can visit oprah.com/OWN to few the episode.