untitled

Posted 11/13/2001

on The Salvation Army International Discussion Forum

Since the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden, God has sought to reconcile humanity to Himself. From all the people of the world, God chose Abraham to be the father of a holy nation. In an attempt to help this nation be holy, God ordained rules and regulations.

The nation stumbled and fell. Was taken into captivity and only a remnant of the faithful survived to rebuild what was lost.

For 400 years, there was silence. God sent no prophets; no scribes were inspired to write anything of significance. Nothing. The nation was again conquered. Once again they were oppressed. Once again they sought someone to save them from their bondage.

The religious leaders rose in their power, and called for a strict adherence to the rules and regulations God gave them. They went overboard.

Finally, in the fullness of time, God sent a messenger to prepare the way for His ultimate sacrifice. God sent John to preach about the coming Messiah. Jesus came, and began to preach, teach and do miracles.

His main adversaries were the religious leaders of the day who didn't understand all that His ministry entailed. They wanted a Messiah that would deliver them from the political forces that held them in oppression. They wanted a King to rule over them on earth. They didn't see the big picture. They didn't see the vastness of the Kingdom of Heaven.

They opposed Jesus at every turn. They asked Him questions regarding the law. They tried to trick Him into violating the law they loved so much. Finally, they found a way to do away with Him for good.

They crucified Him. But that wasn't the end of Him. He rose again. He broke the bonds of death, and the finality of the tomb. He rose victorious over the evil plans of those who sought to do away with Him.

To His followers, He sent the Gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit filled them with power, filled them with boldness, and helped them spread the message of salvation to all that would listen.

His teaching was simple, and can be found in the Sermon on the Mount. Seek God, live n love, and walk with humility before God and man. The message He taught, and the one His followers proclaimed was not just for certain people.

In the 2000 years since He lived and died the message of salvation to all people has not changed. Today, however, some people believe that only certain people who do certain things can be saved. They believe that the Church has the right to pick and choose whom it will accept, and who it won't. They think they have the right to sit an judge humanity, for all it's sins, even when Jesus told them that if they did, they will be judged the same way.

Today, they squander opportunities for ministry simply because they don't like something about someone. It's really kind of sad. God must be shaking His head n shame over the actions of those who themselves His children.

Amazing, isn't it? The same people who hold the sacred writings of scripture, this testimony of God's love, can't find enough compassion and caring in their hearts to reach out to a marginalized group of people.

They coin a little phrase in an attempt to cover their contempt for those who don't 'measure up' to their standards. They say they 'Love the Sinner, but hate the sin,' and yet when they seem to be putting the saying into action, someone, somewhere tries to derail the effort. As a whole, they lose the highly sought after integrity and trust of the marginalised. They drive them further away from the Gospel they hold so dear.

The day will come when they will have to answer to God for their actions on earth. It will be interesting to hear just how some of them respond.....

God asks: There was a people who was not a people. They were cast out and oppressed. They were judged and condemned. I tried to reach out to them with my love and compassion. Some of my children responded. How did you respond?

They say: We loved the sinner and hated the sin. We helped them in times when they needed it. In love, we told them they were wrong for their thinking. We tried to change them into what they should be. We did not allow them to be who they were, but encouraged them to live as we thought you wanted them to be. We condemned their actions, and refused to listen to their pleas because we saw them as trying to twist your word.

God says: When you did this, how did they respond to what you said? Did you reach them, or did they run away from me? How many of them do you see before you? Where are they now?

They say: We tried, but they wouldn't listen to us when we told them the errors of their ways. Instead, they tried to claim that you created them to be who they are. They said you loved them. They said you called them to yourself, as they were. They said you didn't want them to change, or refused to change them. I don't see too many of them here now. Maybe just one or two. But, we thought they were gone away from you.

God said: Did you ever listen to what they said with open hearts? Or was your mind too involved in listening to the voice of another? Did you listen to the one who said they weren't acceptable to me? The one who said they couldn't possibly be my children? Did the tactics you used bring them here? Or, did it send them to hell?

They said: We did what our traditions told us. We did what we thought your word said. We told them what we thought they needed to hear. We thought we listened to you. We thought you were standing by us when we upheld our tradition. But they wouldn't listen, and they went to hell.

God said: Did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe I was speaking to you through them? Did you ever think that I was trying to open your hearts and minds? Did it ever occur to you that the story my Son told you about the Good Samaritan was being played out before you, in real life? Did you ever think that maybe this was a test to see just how much you could love? Maybe I was trying to see if you could love outside the lines you drew. Maybe I was trying to see if you really could show the same kind of love and compassion I do. Maybe I was trying to see just how much like me you are. Did any of this ever occur to you?

They said: Well, you sent us people who told us all of this, but we dismissed them because we thought they were twisting your word. We thought they were being deceived by Satan, so we sent them away. We cursed them at every turn. We told them the errors of their ways. We didn't accept them, or what they said.

God said: Are they here?

They said: Yes.

God said: What did they do that was different from what you did? I know you saw them work. I know you saw the people they worked with. Do you see them here?

They said: They preached a gospel centered on your love for them. They said that you loved and accepted everyone. They preached that you treat everyone the same, hold everyone to the same rules. They claimed a revival in your name, and moved the way they claimed you were leading them. The ones they reached are here.

God said: Who was right? Who got my message? Who understood what I was trying to do? Who had the faith, and courage to stand up for the changes I tried to make? Who followed when I called these people, and who brought them in here? Was it you?

They said: Um, no.

God said: What was your name again?

God is calling each and every one of us to live the life of love and compassion that Jesus showed us. He is calling us to go after those who are lost, without discrimination. He is calling us to 'put up, or shut up' our faith. He is calling us to put love into action. And HE is calling us to reach out and touch the lives of the Gay and Lesbian, just as we have touched the lives of countless others.

He is NOT calling us to judge them. He is NOT calling us to condemn them. He is NOT calling us to assist them in losing their faith in Him, or us for that matter. He is callng us to live up to what His Son taught, lived and died for. He is calling us to do His work.

If you don't want to come along. If you don't want to be a part of this, then sit in your corps, in your office, and in your excuses for not doing as He bids, and watch on the sidelines as OTHERS lay claim to the souls you are letting go of.

God will accomplish the work He has ordained and blessed within the Gay/Lesbian community. It will succeed in His might, and His power, through His Spirit regardless of what you do or don't do. God will do it with or without you.

As a Christian gay man, I pray that the work the Holy Spirit has begun in my community will expand, and that souls will be won, people will be reconciled to God, and victory will be ours! I claim that in Jesus' name.

As a (former) Salvationist, I am always hopeful that the Army will truly listen to God in this matter, and not give in to the pressure of popular opinion. (As they have on the 'domiciled adult benefits') But, the Army is not brave anymore. The Army is not forward thinking anymore. The Army is not what it used to be. It almost seems to me that the Army has lost it's first love, and has chosen to follow the leading of the popular Evangelical opinion, and the almighty currency.

It truly is a sad day for the Army.

They did what they thought was right.
Satan attacked them for it.
They backtracked.
The devil won.
The gay community can't trust them anymore.
They lost their effectiveness.
They brought shame on themselves.
They ignored the pleas of the oppressed.
They held true to their principles and their traditional interpretations of God's word to satisfy their contempt for others.
They refused when God spoke through others.
They refused to believe God is doing what others have attested to.
They said those who don't think as they do are twisted, when really, their contempt has blinded them to the truth of God's love.

I do not claim to be a prophet. I don't think you would accept it if I did. But, as I have written you today, I have felt at times to speak for God in the first person as the prophets of old did. God is trying to tell you all something. Listen to Him before it's too late. Now is the time for you to stand WITH the oppressed people, NOT AGAINST them. But, you have to make the decision to follow. God may try to force you to do it, but He would rather you do so out of your love for Him.

You know God's love is unconditional.
You know that Jesus died for the sins of All people.
You know it's the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin.
You know it's your DUTY to reach out in love to the lost.
You know what your orders are.
You know what God expects.
Stop trying to tell everyone what wrongs you think they're committing, and start letting God do His job!

God sent 16 prophets to ancient Israel to inform them of their wrongs. They didn't listen to them, and look where it got them. God is giving His Army a chance to become a part of the work He is trying to do in the Gay Community, and He has sent you at least three people on this forum to help you. You have not listened. You have refused to hear.

Let those who have ears to hear what God is trying to say in this extremely long post do what HE is leading them to do.

The time for action is now!
Blessings,
Eric

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