Love is an Orientation

Just finished reading this book too (its half term so I get a lot of reading done!). It doesn't answer any questions about homosexuality, as such, but that isn't really the point of the book, which was very refreshing. It does bring up some interesting things about church though, which I wanted to share here.

Andrew Marin writes:

"Church is a place to give rest to your soul, a place of gathering where anyone should be able to come and involve themselves with a community of believers who are joined by a common faith in the Lord Almighty. Church is believers - transparent, real and raw."

The Church of England in general, has become a place of perfection, a place without sinners, which is completely different to the church of close gatherers that Jesus surrounded himself with. The Kingdom of God is not for those who have lived a perfect life on earth as David's relationship with God shows. David was a sinner; an adulterer and a murderer (indirectly), still God calls him 'someone after my own heart'. David was centred on God and followed Him. Lot's wife on the other hand, chose her possessions and the life she had grown to love. The Kingdom of God is for those who have shifted their mind frame away from earthly things onto God. The people surrounding Jesus (his disciples, the Samaritian woman, Mary Magdalene etc) were sinners, who appreciated the 'living bread' Jesus was offering them.

When someone asked Billy Graham why he still hung around Bill Clinton after the sex scandal broke out, he replied: "It is the Holy Spirit's job to convict, God's job to judge and my job to love." We are all called to love.

In the book 'UnChristian' a group of 16-29 year olds were asked how they perceive the church. They replied:
Anti-gay (91%)
Judgemental (87%)
Hypocritical (85%)
They are some figures!

I'm lucky I belong to a lovely church which I don't think embodies those characteristics but there are some people in all churches who believe it is their job to judge and condemn. It isn't.

Andrew Marin describes a photo frame he has on his desk which has no photo but just a single mustard seed. Everyone that comes across it stops to think why he would have such a thing on his desk. He uses it to show we are like that mustard seed. "We are unable to establish ourselves, dependent on the intervention of Another, not in control of ourcircumstances but hopeful that God can bring us through them."

We all need God and we all need the fellowship of others in a church, full of people that don't judge us, who are not perfect and are all struggling with sin in different ways. Its time we shared rather than judged or criticised.