To my Church family:
When it comes to the fight over gay rights in Iowa I find myself in a peculiar position. For my entire life I have been a Christian and for my entire life I have been straight. Growing up this way in this state that I call my home I have truly never known the sting of persecution. On top of that I can’t even boast having a single gay family member or close gay friend. By all standards I have nothing to lose or to gain from the debate over gay and lesbian rights in Iowa. Why, then, do I even care?
I care because, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” I care because, as a Christian, it is my duty to stand on the side of justice and to protect those to whom justice would be denied.
Many times in the past we Christians have found ourselves standing on the wrong side of history. So many times we have taken a stand along side prejudice thinly veiled in a cloak of false piety. We have fought unholy battles only to find ourselves stained and humiliated in the aftermath. The past lays bare our sins before us. This time, though, we still have a chance to change that. We can stand beside the oppressed with faith and with love. We can be champions of justice and messengers of peace. Then when we stand before our Lord one day He can truly say to us, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”
This time around we can find ourselves on the right side of history. When our descendants look back on us might they see not a fearful people who hated their neighbor but a people who shown so boldly with the love of God that Love and Justice became synonymous with the title of Christian.
We are once again being presented with a choice and it is a choice we cannot ignore. Which side will we land on? That is something only we can tell.
With Love,
Tylor
Well said.
How can you say you’re Christian if you’ve never experienced persecution? That’s pretty much a requirement laid out in the Bible.
I’m speaking relatively. Of course my faith has caused me friction and challenges over the years but with the society I live in the “persecution” of Christians is nothing compared to that of other groups.