We baptised a lovely fella last night. He's got a long way to go but shows a lot of promise.
At supper, after the meeting, we prayed for him and spoke words of prophecy for him. It was unusual because the Sunday supper is usually a time to relax, but as the household leader pointed out, "Are we as happy to be eating spaghetti on toast as we are to be praying? Is our spiritual life as easy as our natural life?" It's a worthwhile question. We need to keep challenging our natural ways, not so we become intensely spiritual, but so that we open up channels to freely move in the life of God.
I've been getting a lot of questions about homosexuality lately, because a few of the people we have round are working through these issues. It's good to take a hard look at these questions, especially in an environment of acceptance where God is the main thing and sexuality comes a long way down the list (though it's obviously important to each individual). I've always found Martin Hallett a useful reference point in this area.
There's so much that could be said on this issue. One of the things I think our church offers is a social atmosphere of respect, especially along sexual boundaries; brothers associate with brothers, sisters with sisters - love for one another is key, and this helps people find themselves in a fellowship free from sexual pressure.
Great so brothers with brothers and sisters with sisters. Well that helps the hetrosexual people out, what if your homosexual? a little more complicated then.
ReplyDeleteHaving only been around a small part of my life, I have known and continue to have close friendships with Women, married and single, I consider my life to be all the richer for it. Something I find lacking in church life.
'DD'
I have found such security and blessing and freedom in sisters being with sisters and my sons have been working through the issues of being men having been brought up in a feminised way and have had too sturggle to become men and i am so so so grteful to God that he is showing my younger son and my daughter the path of how to be a man of God in the making and my daughter how to be a woman in God there is such freedom in boundries and i praise God for teh preciousness of zion boundries and realtionships hers to freedom
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's as easy as assuming that someone who is gay will have trouble if he spends all his time with members of the same sex.
ReplyDeleteFor one thing there is unlikely to be the same mutuality of attraction as there is between men and women, statistically there are less people to reciprocate those romantic feelings! But moreover your response comes from an assumption that homosexual attraction is fundamentally the same thing as heterosexual attraction. I don't know if that's true or not. Admittedly, while having looked at this subject for some time I can't speak authoratitively... but what if the same-sex attraction comes from a lack of true paternal/fraternal relationships in a man's life in the first place? Then brotherhood would provide help for a man in a way that being with women could not.
I feel saddened by the above perspective on female friendships in church. I have some truly wonderful male friends in church life but some of my most precious friendships are with sisters, four quickly come to mind.
Tschaka,
ReplyDeleteI wasn't assuming that at all. I was simply pointing out that for someone who is gay they may not find themselves in a fellowship that is free from sexual pressure. I have friends who are gay their thought are no different to mine except in theirs it is focused on men, in mine it's women. I have a friend to only admit he would be attracted to me IF I were gay and another who could only see me as a brother, no attraction at all. I repsect the openess and honesty of both.
My second point was highlighting that it is possible to have close male-female friendships without sexual pressure too.
Yes I too feel saddened, I feel saddened that close godly friendships between brothers AND sisters are not fostered in the same way as they are promoted with brother-brother & sister-sister relationships. There is an obvious boundary that needs to be kept to avoid over-famility (something which I have always successfully avoided with my female friends) but that should not get in the way of forming friendships with brothers AND sisters alike.
Examples I can think of are single schools where segragation has resulted is high levels of underage pregnancy. Talking to pupils of these schools I have witnessed them talk of the opposite sex as something quite different, a lack of understanding that they are humans first and foremost, respecting them as indivdual beings and not strange creatures of fascination. This lack or forming normal friendships in childhood has meant that the opposite sex are unknown at a time when the change to adulthood brings its mix of emotions and urges.
I have placed great value in the of freedom of sharing with female friends, having a females point of view has been very helpful at times. Think how wonderful it would be if within the church those types of valueable friendships were encouraged whilst covered by God.
'DD'