What about homosexuality? And homosexuals? And the church? And American politics? Issues of personal rights, and issues of tolerance toward others. What’s “moral,” and who gets to say so? And, oh, by the way, the issue of Love…

These are but a few of the provocative questions we could ask, each with an inflammatory side, able to cause division among us. Then again, separating oneself from evil is a proper thing to do, and justifies all kinds of divisions among people of faith.

A “foundationalist,” notice I didn’t say “fundamentalist,” would want to “stand” upon “truth.” For Christians, the truth is found in the Holy Scriptures, so we invoke the Bible as our authority. We also say that Jesus Christ IS the Truth, and in so doing can paint ourselves into a bit of a corner if the only truth we are going to cite is from the Bible. In this way we get to declare what truth is, because we “translate” the Bible, and thus control its meaning.

This can leave Jesus out of the conversation. And He very much wants to be IN the conversation of our lives, and has sent His Holy Spirit to keep that conversation alive and beneficial. After all, He is Lord, not us, and we are constantly having “epiphanies” as we grow in Christ and discover that we didn’t know it all, after all.

The Bible seems very clear to me about homosexual practices, as it does about many other kinds of enumerated “sins.” They separate us, not only from one another, but from God Himself. Based upon that alone I would recommend not doing them, and surely not “practicing” them. Some in the faith have gone so far as to try and categorize the list of sins, creating a kind of ranking, from sort-of-bad to really-horrible. I’m of the opinion they are all bad and all should be avoided and that we aren’t capable of managing which ones we should dabble in and which ones we can master.

Then there’s this whole Bible “truth” about not judging others. I suppose that’s another sin, and I suppose we all do it and therefore all are without guilt. So we’re all guilty, of various transgressions, and all deserve the “punishment” for the transgression. That’s Bible, after all, so “the truth hurts.”

Except for Jesus Christ. He changes everything. This, in fact, IS the Good News. He doesn’t judge us, because He died for those sins and in Him we are set free from the guilt and shame that normally would haunt us. Do you get that? Do you get it that YOU are set free from sin by faith in Jesus Christ?

So, what about homosexuality? I’d say “Don’t do it.” Well, what about ANY of the sins listed? Same answer: “Don’t do them.” Here is where the hammer falls, and the hammer isn’t judgment and sentence and penalty. The hammer is love. Love never fails. Love doesn’t condone, and Love doesn’t condemn, and Love doesn’t participate in doing wrong. Love just loves. We can only Love if Love is being manifested through us. Period. You can’t give what you don’t have. If all you have is guilt, about yourself, then it makes sense you’d have a tough time giving Love to others. Let Jesus Christ clean YOU up, and you’ll be amazed how everyone else seems less dirty.