You’re Not an Accident
As I was re-visiting the foundation of faith by going through the 40 days devotional material by Rick Warren, entitled “What Am I Here On Earth For”, I found the day 2 topic very important to us as Christian, and also compelled to speak to the gay Christian community. Day 2’s topic says “You Are Not An Accident”. Especially in the gay community, I’ve heard so many people say things such as “if I could, I wouldn’t have chosen to be gay”, or “God knows why I’m born this way” (cue: Lady Gaga’s Born This Way), or “I do not have a choice”, or “I don’t deserve this kind of pain, therefore I’m ending it”. The list goes on, and all of it contains a sense of bitterness. But we are not an accident. By whinging on the bitter comments, it is an insult to God.
Whether or not we think our lives are nothing but a punishment, we cannot deny that God has all sovereignty in every detail that goes on in every person’s life, as an individual, or as a world as a whole. Having argued and debated with this issue for the past 30 years, the only thing that the 10 pastors whom I sought help from told me only one thing — “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16 NIV). And there is also the verse that says God has planned us even before the earth was formed; He planned where we’d be born, what nationality, to whom, and when (Psalms 139:16 LB; Acts 17:26).
Perhaps, God may have known all along that this is what you’ll experience in your lifetime on earth. I wouldn’t say I’m 100% certain about it, but what I’m certain of is that you and I aren’t an accident. For you and I to have gay challenges this day — whether we argue it is biological, genetic, psychological, social, or environmental — it is something God has always been aware of. And just like any other challenges any other human being face, we are given a choice to choose our actions.
I was listening to a sermon by Pastor Steven Furtick, and a line caught my attention and quickly registered in me. It goes “we cannot choose our circumstances, but we can choose how we react to it”. The same goes for everything else in our lives. Are we going to choose to debate about what’s right and what’s wrong? Are you going to still argue about social changes versus traditional theology? Or are we going to obediently choose to obey God’s word? We’re made for one purpose, and that purpose is for God. If we still find ourselves arguing about the rights and wrongs, we may still be focusing on our desires and what we want instead of what God says.
Can I draw us back to a letter Paul wrote to the Romans which closely relates to their choice of action? Paul has said that the Romans know about God, they know God’s creation and his power, but they didn’t worship or give thanks to God. Instead, the Romans think of foolish ideas of what God was like. Their minds became dark and confused. They claim their theories to be wise, but instead, they’ve become fools. Instead of worshipping the glorious, ever-living God (just what we’re made for) they started worshipping idols, and commit to homosexuality and even invent new ways of sinning. This whole story can be read in Romans 1:18–32. I think it is still the same today, we argue and debate about what God is, and decides what God thinks about homosexuality. And I know so well how many inventions for new ways to sin there are in the gay world.
What we need is to go back to the foundation of faith. Just God and us. Our purpose He has created for, not what our purpose is for us as His creation. These questions are the most sought after in church history. People want to know their destiny and what their calling or purpose is. And the answer is straightforward — the word/bible is the answer. But often we find it difficult to understand our true purpose after reading the bible cover to cover a dozen times because our mind hears only what it wants to hear.
Let me just recap this. First, you and I are not created by accident. Secondly, God planned us even before our existence. And that goes to say ‘everything is created IN Him and FOR Him’ (Col 1:16). Thirdly, we are God’s holy children, only with homosexuality as our challenge on earth to train our maturity (I would believe it is the sanctification process for glorification). Fourthly, do not tell God what He is, do not insult God with our self-acclaimed wisdom. Fifth, find our purpose in God’s word.
I hope this will help all of us embark on our future with the right identity in God and a journey ready to encounter God’s fullness on a whole new level!
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