The outreach for the day: feeding 200 of our closest homeless friends.
The army to help us that day was a fresh faced group of volunteers. This was their first day to serve the homeless. They had shown up wide-eyed with some excitement…. but mostly fear (you know the look… the plastered smile and too much nodding as you explain how the event is going to work… while internally freaking out…b/c what if one of the “least of these” asks me a question… what will I say… you know you’ve been there) There is nothing quite like the first time you walk up on around 200 very homeless looking folks.
And this group had already expressed to us that they were EXTRA nervous and had never ventured into the inner city before.
I gathered the volunteers up and explained the outreach specifics through what I called my MEGAPHONE OF POWER. (I was/am so mature). I didn’t need a megaphone, the volunteers were 5 feet away, but it made me seem in charge and it was powerful. (I also didn’t need the fanny pack I wore but that too made me feel powerful… and in charge… and so I wore it)
At the event that day was a street guy that we called “Bones”. ( I have no idea why we call him that). Bones is in a wheelchair due to the fact that he lost one leg from the kneesdown. He is NOTORIOUS on the street for being wild, loud and saying mildly to extremely inappropriate things at the top of his lungs. In fact… that’s actually all that he is known for. To that day I had not known Bones ever to be appropriate.
Which is why… you are going to call me an idiot in about 2 paragraphs.
As I was speaking into the Megaphone of Power, Bones rolled up behind me.
He began to make gestures behind my back… no doubt mocking my every word. I could smell the alcohol and knew that Bones was in a particular mood.
As I was speaking he tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and he was grinning ear to ear. He batted his eyes at me (not lying) and asked me:
” May I PLEASE say something to these AMAZING volunteers?”
(with a grand sweeping arm gesture towards the fresh faced bunch)
And this is where the fatal mistake was made.
I HANDED BONES THE MEGAPHONE OF POWER.
He held down the button and it fed back loudly.
It was DEAD SILENT as that wide-eyed group of Christians stood mesmerized by Bones and moved that he wanted to say something to them, probably expecting him to say a heartfelt, “Thank You” to them.
He lifted the megaphone of power to his lips and said, with volume
as loud as it would go:
“KISS… (long silence)… MY… (long silence)…____________….all of you…. kiss it”. (imagine the sound of a censor “beeeeep” and fill in the blank creatively)
And he handed me the megaphone and rolled away.
Jesus… take the wheel. Bless it Lord… maybe He had closed their ears with divine ear muffs.
SHOCK AND AWE.
Those sweet do gooders were withering right in front of me, their faces white as ghosts. They were offended… some covered the ears of their children and they all stared at me.
I raised the megaphone to my mouth, sheepishly, and simply stated:
“I’m sorry. That was completely my fault.”
We have handed over our megaphone to the world when it comes to the topic of sex.
And the world has lifted the megaphone to its lips and defined it in a way that is shocking, untrue and nothing like the purpose for which it was God-breathed.
And we are left, jaw open, wondering what in the world happened and how we got here?
So what do we do from here?
Do we bury our head in the sand, bury our kids heads in that same sand and just hope you never have to have the conversation about sex that you dread so much?
Do we look out into culture, speak negatively about what’s going on but do nothing about it?
Do we shrink back when someone who struggles with sex and sexuality comes to us to find freedom?
OR
Do we see the current culture we live in and the MASSIVE platform that’s been built for the topic of sex, as the PERFECT OPPORTUNITY for us to engage and change the conversation?
Think about it, it’s already on center stage!! The world wants it, more of it and wants to know more about it.
And we, as God’s kids have the ABSOLUTE TRUTH about it.
How exciting!
We get a chance to rewrite the definition or maybe define it for the first time.
And we have ALL the answers we need to engage a broken world about the beauty of sex the way God created it.
It’s time for us to stop being silent…because we live in a world that is screaming…and the louder voice will win.
So how do we have this conversation? Where do we start?
WE MUST TAKE THE FOCUS OFF OF BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION
and place it on true heart transformation.
It’s time for Christians to get off the “JUST DON’T” train. It’s simply not enough of an answer for someone who is truly struggling or seeking truth about sex and sexuality. JUST DON’T DO IT simply states what behavior we shouldn’t be doing. It is empty and lacks the answer to the question: WHY?
Why does God institute sex only in the context of marriage? Why does God call us to be pure and abstain when not in covenant?
If we looked, instead, to have a conversation about the WHY behind the blue print for sex that God has drawn, we would find beautiful truth waiting on us.
We must start with an honest conversation about God and His heart…not about sex…but about God. Who is He and what does He want for his children?
When we know Him, and when we introduce people to Him, we give the proper framework to have a redemptive conversation about sex.
To ask someone who doesn’t TRULY know God and His intentions for His children to wrap their mind around a God-breathed version of sex would be like asking a person without vision to describe a Monet painting in an art gallery.
SO WHAT IS THE WHY?
The world needs to know that there is a God who is PASSIONATELY in love with them.
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
And because He is in love with them, He wants ALL OF their hearts. He cares about every part.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.” Deuteronomy 6:5
He wants the one, once stumbling around in absolute darkness, to come into the light and find who they truly are. He wants to define them and give them their identity.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
God’s ultimate goal is for His children to glorify Him, because when we are doing that, we are full and abundant.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. “ Genesis 1:27
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31
“But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.” 1 Peter 2:9-10
What does that mean? To glorify Him?
To glorify God is to project His likeness to the world around us. For our lives to be one long steady shout about what God is doing, what He has done and what He has the power to do. He gives His kids the title of “ambassador” and tells us He’s making His plea through us.
A part of mimicking Him, and glorifying Him, is being pure, holy and set apart, like He is. These are callings on our lives.
“One final word, friends. We ask you—urge is more like it—that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. You know the guidelines we laid out for you from the Master Jesus. God wants you to live a pure life. Learn to appreciate and give dignity to your body, not abusing it, as is so common among those who know nothing of God. God hasn’t invited us into a disorderly, unkempt life but into something holy and beautiful—as beautiful on the inside as the outside.” 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
Breath in those truths you guys…they are beautiful…and they actually tell us a lot about where our definitions about sex should come from.
These truths should be the canvas that our portrait of sex and sexuality is painted on. They are not just about the behavior (what we should and shouldn’t do) but about the call to purity, the possibilities for true intimacy and the potential of a life lived for God.
When someone understands and accepts the love of God and begins to understand that He wants GOOD for them and desires for them to know true, abundant life, then the boundaries set in His word about sex and sexual sin will be welcomed as simply a way that a loving Father loves…by protecting.
Bottom line:
Redefining sex and sexuality starts with one conversation at a time, one life at a time and MUST start with an exploration into who God is and who He has called us all to be.
The conversation will find a firmer foundation if had at the feet of Jesus, in full understanding that there is forgiveness for ALL sin, and there is strength to overcome lust for EVERYONE who knows the Father. Saying this message through a megaphone to our world would MOST DEFINITELY cause change.
So pick up your megaphones, get out there, and begin telling the story of God’s intentions for His kids….His good, perfect, whole and passionate intentions for His children- who He dearly loves.
(Stay tuned for the final post on the topic of sex coming next week. Next we figure out just what God wants sex to be like. It’s gonna be good…literally)
