Responding to the SCOTUS Ruling on Same-Sex Marriage
I am so excited to be a Christian right now especially after today’s Supreme Court ruling! Some see it as a day to celebrate and others a day to mourn. I see it as a day of opportunity. An opportunity to be a true disciple of Jesus. An opportunity to be a sign of Love to a generation searching for it in its truest form. Why you ask? Anything government enacts or religious institutions profess, is not a dictation but an invitation to respond. They come with sets of repercussions if denied or complied with, but in the end, it’s on us to decide how to respond. Therefore, no ruling by the government will end the world and anything religious institutions profess will not command the way people live. Again, why you ask? Because individuals will always have the freedom to respond in any way they see fit. Which is exactly what being a follower of Christ is all about... choosing how to respond. |
We see this with the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery. They press Christ to give them direction on how to respond. The crowd reminds Jesus that the law is to stone her to death, and then they ask him what to do again. His response is an invitation to respond, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her”. Jesus wants us to go to our own conscience and look at our actions before we criticize others and the same holds true right now.
See the government has enacted their law and the Church continues to profess what it’s been teaching from the beginning, but the real debate is how will we respond? Whether the woman caught in adultery is the same-sex married couple, the couple having sex outside of marriage, using artificial birth control to avoid pregnancy, or the women with severe cancer who took her own life, we have to ask ourselves if we are able to throw a stone. Can you? I know I can’t.
See the government has enacted their law and the Church continues to profess what it’s been teaching from the beginning, but the real debate is how will we respond? Whether the woman caught in adultery is the same-sex married couple, the couple having sex outside of marriage, using artificial birth control to avoid pregnancy, or the women with severe cancer who took her own life, we have to ask ourselves if we are able to throw a stone. Can you? I know I can’t.
With that said, I recall all those we call “saint” today, I think of the persecution they went through by the government, society, and even those around them who were also Christians. How were they able to forgive those who wronged them, love the “unlovable”, and accept the consequences of opposing government rule? They all came to know Jesus in person. Once they had their relationship with Jesus and nurtured it, nothing else mattered. No matter what hurt, jealousy, or envy they experienced, they gave mercy, forgiveness, happiness, and joy! But they all came to know Jesus in person. Which leads me to my point... No one can be a follower of Christ if they’ve never truly experienced him in person. But how will anyone be opened to that experience if they can’t even see Jesus in another person? |
“Christ has no body now on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ must look out on the world. Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which He is to bless His people.”
– St. Teresa of Avila
So here’s our chance! I encourage you to share the truth, show your joy and hope in Christ, but most importantly share His love with those you meet along the way. None of us go through this world without sin and none of us got out of that sin without coming to know mercy, forgiveness, and love before the Truth.
– St. Teresa of Avila
So here’s our chance! I encourage you to share the truth, show your joy and hope in Christ, but most importantly share His love with those you meet along the way. None of us go through this world without sin and none of us got out of that sin without coming to know mercy, forgiveness, and love before the Truth.