“Thank God for dead soldiers.” This slogan found on protest signs of the Westboro Baptist Church turns my stomach every time I see it. It pains me to believe God-fearing Christians can come to the conclusion that we reap what we sow in this manner. To believe the military—because of their policy to accept people of same-sex lifestyles—is giving God carte blanche to judge and punish them for their decision…I am almost speechless. Almost.
What I read from the Word of God is that homosexuality is a sin. It deserves to be judged by God and will most certainly be done in His timing and in His manner. That said, every sin…be it lying, cheating, lust, murder, or a thousand other godless acts we as humans give in to every day, should be—and will be—judged by God. This does not mean we have the privilege of taking the podium and self-electing ourselves to be God’s advocate in the matter. I find nowhere in the Scriptures where we are to take on this role as judge and jury on God’s behalf.
We are clearly instructed to counsel fellow believers if they are living in contradiction to God’s ways. We are not, however, told to judge and persecute all of humanity for their sins. We are commissioned to speak the truth of the Gospel and act as a light in a darkened world. It is not our business to condemn; that is God’s business. It is not our job to invoke conviction in the unsaved; that is God’s job.
What this church has promoted as an allegiance to acting in God’s will has brought me great shame to the Christianity I have professed to believe. I pray for this church and its believers that God will, indeed, divinely intervene and bring to light that the God of all creation is a God of love and—within that loving role—will judge as He sees fit…not as we see fit.
Painfully in prayer,
Greg Morton
© March 3, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Nothing I Can Do
Rummaging through my iTunes library I came across a song by Ben Taylor, son of renowned James Taylor. Although I’ve listened to the song many times the lyrics struck me this last time as very poignant and fitting if we were to sing these words to the Lord:
There is nothing that I can do but belong to you;
Heaven and Earth and I find myself
singing this song for you
As luck would have it, it just so happens that there's
nothing I'd rather do
Although I’m certain these lyrics were intended to express a personal human relationship, they eloquently cut to the heart of our relationship with Jesus just as well. There really is nothing we can do—for all our good intentions and bold actions—that would even come close to measuring up to our being worthy of salvation. From the lowliest to the grand, belonging to Him is ultimately all we can do.
Not to say we shouldn’t act according to His commission. We certainly must continue to speak the truth we have learned to anyone and everyone. I’m sure God smiles on us as we reach others by words, example, song…any way possible. Reality hits us hard, though, that we continually sin and fall short; never really serving the awesomeness and immense glory of Jesus Christ justice.
From now on when I sing along with this song I will sing with a renewed inspiration: “There is nothing that I can do but belong to You.”
Amen, and Blessings!
Greg Morton
© March 2011
To view a printable copy of this commentary click here
There is nothing that I can do but belong to you;
Heaven and Earth and I find myself
singing this song for you
As luck would have it, it just so happens that there's
nothing I'd rather do
Although I’m certain these lyrics were intended to express a personal human relationship, they eloquently cut to the heart of our relationship with Jesus just as well. There really is nothing we can do—for all our good intentions and bold actions—that would even come close to measuring up to our being worthy of salvation. From the lowliest to the grand, belonging to Him is ultimately all we can do.
Not to say we shouldn’t act according to His commission. We certainly must continue to speak the truth we have learned to anyone and everyone. I’m sure God smiles on us as we reach others by words, example, song…any way possible. Reality hits us hard, though, that we continually sin and fall short; never really serving the awesomeness and immense glory of Jesus Christ justice.
From now on when I sing along with this song I will sing with a renewed inspiration: “There is nothing that I can do but belong to You.”
Amen, and Blessings!
Greg Morton
© March 2011
To view a printable copy of this commentary click here
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)