Real Heroes

Posted on December 24, 2007

One of the most popular television series of the past two seasons is called “Heroes.” It concerns a group of people who discover they have unique powers, and who use them to do good and fight against various kinds of evil. Analogous to the adventures in many comic books, this series taps a yearning in the human heart to transcend our mundane life and become a courageous champion, distinguishing ourselves in skill and valor. Humans appreciate the virtuous beauty in a real hero.

This admiration of heroes, evident as early as Homer’s Odyssey, would seem to be part of the created nature of human beings. The Holy Spirit takes this admiration and transforms it, by bringing it into a higher, spiritual framework, leading to a different understanding of heroism. In the kingdom of God, everything is the same, and yet everything is different. For example, from God’s standpoint, our strengths may be our liabilities, because we trust in them, rather than God (1Co 1:26-31). Conversely, from a divine perspective, our weaknesses are seen as strengths (Mt 5:3; 2Co 11:30, 12:7-10). Consequently, in the kingdom of God, one finds heroes in what might seem to be unexpected places.

Same-sex attraction (SSA) is an incredible burden for those who struggle with it. Whatever the full explanation of why it develops, anyone who knows well someone who has struggled with SSA knows that it is a monumental challenge. Those who feel strong desires for sexual expression with the same sex, but who, for moral and spiritual reasons, know they should not fulfill those desires, face a tremendous trial and an unsual degree of suffering and sorrow, that the typical heterosexual often finds hard to understand. They did not ask for it; most of them did not seek it, at least not at first. But they discovered in early adolescence that something was wrong in them, and unless enculturated by a post/modern agenda, they felt a powerful internal conflict, that resulted in a deep sense of shame and, to the extent it was pursued, guilt. The pro-gay movement tries to nullify that shame and guilt and encourages people to “come out of the closet” and celebrate their orientation. But such efforts only succeed in repressing the sense of shame and self-alienation they were aware of consciously in adolescence. But it works.

In contrast, consider those Christians who struggle against such desires, because of the law of God written on their heart and the indwelling Spirit—those who resist their “unnatural” desires (Ro 1:26,27) by following their ethical and supernatural desires to live their lives according to God’s design. This requires an enormous resolve and over time produces the proven character of a deep faith and a patient humility. There is suffering, to be sure—anguish, frustration, and pain, especially at first—but through their submission to divine norms, they increasingly attain an ennobling sense of purpose, a higher calling to the beauty of a virtuous life, and a meaning that far exceeds the fulfillment of faulty biological desires.

In the past, most of these individuals felt (and were sometimes treated) like they didn’t belong in the Church, and they hid their struggles from other believers, fearing that they wouldn’t understand, and that they might be rejected as moral failures. However, the Church needs to recognize that these folks are actually contemporary heroes of the faith, valiant warriors who are fighting symbolically on the front lines of the war between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world, for they are courageously pursuing God’s calling in the face of real suffering, often feeling like they are standing alone, between two cultures that do not appreciate them and their internal conflict (gay and Christian). Rather than hiding these struggles, it is good for ex-gays to be open about them with others, and this in turn could help the Church grow in its own psychospiritual maturity. Because of the sharpness of their internal conflict, ex-gays well illustrate the spiritual battles of all Christians against the desires of the flesh (Gal 5:17-21). In this they could serve the rest of the Church as role models and help other Christians better come to terms with the fact that, though saved by Christ from the penalty of our sin, we are all still less-than-perfect sinners, who are being saved by Christ from sin’s power (1Co 1:18).

How amazing would it be if God turned the brazen openness of the gay movement into the humble openness of the ex-gay movement, as gays seeking healing are drawn into a Church that is more known for its love for gays and its humility, than for a condescending attitude towards those outside the Church, and then God used ex-gays to help the rest of his people become more honest and more discerning about their own internal moral and spiritual ambiguities and struggles. What kind of God would do that? A God who came to earth as a baby, and later hung out with sinners and denounced hypocrites, and called both kinds to be his apostles. Today, in the kingdom of God, ex-gay Christians are real heroes.

“For all his bluster, it’s the sad province of man that he cannot chose his trials. He can only choose how he will stand, when the call of destiny comes, hoping that he will have the courage to answer.” (From the conclusion of the 2nd episode, first season of Heroes)

Same-Sex Attraction and Normal

Posted on December 12, 2007

The Temptation of Same-Sex Attraction

Posted on December 3, 2007

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