I Let It Go, And It Went Away

Psalm 32

I'm in the middle of writing my paper for ordination. This paper is similar to a written Master's Degree theses, without all that nasty research. The paper is basically a reflection of where I currently am on my faith journey and what my theological thoughts on various topics are. It's a fun paper to write and in its writing I'm discovering a little about myself.

One of the topics I'm writing on is how I am "Born Again" so I found it a little funny that yesterday's sermon was on the same topic. The sermon mentioned that being born again is the same as being born anew. It really does mean becoming a new person; one whose life is centered in Christ.

In my paper I write about the old me and the new me and I use this example as one of my illustrations. 15 years ago if you would have asked me, "Is homosexuality a sin?" my answer would have been a resounding, steadfast yes. The new me, however, views sin in a different way and no longer believes that homosexuality, in and of itself, is a sin. I know way too many people who are in same sex relationships who share a deep love for God through Christ. How, then, can such a love be a sin?

I go into more detail in my paper, much too much detail to write here, but suffice it to say that I had been transformed into a new person. It wasn't easy, I was born into and brought up by a religious experience that taught me certain things were a sin, and sin meant very bad things will happen to you. I had to let go of that life - and so I did, with the grace of God and the love of those around me.

Letting go of our inborn prejudices is not easy, but it can be done if we let the love of God into our hearts and into our lives.