I can't get Tyler Clementi off my mind

In case you don't know, Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old university student committed suicide on 22 September. This was after his roommate posted footage on the internet of him making out with another man, resulting in great mockery.





What gets me is how hopeless and isolated Tyler must have felt - to jump off a bridge to his death. And even worse is some of the hate messages left on the Tyler Clementi Memorial Facebook page. A sample:

"God says very clearly that homosexuality and suicide are mortal sins. TONIGHT TYLER DINES IN HELL."

When there are many other things God defines as "mortal sins" as well and Jesus said no-one can judge another unless that person is blameless themself.


The point is that God loves us inspite of our sin. That He offers a life of freedom from sin. And that is the only hope any of us have.


What makes it worse is the episode of Glee that (coincidentally) aired a few days later, with Kurt Hummel declaring, "God’s kind of a jerk, isn’t he? I mean, he makes me gay, then has his followers going around telling me it’s something that I chose. As if someone would choose to be mocked every single day of their life."





People need to get an understanding of God's goodness.


I don't know how or why anyone is who they are and why we feel the things we do. But I do know that God's dreams for you are greater even than your own.


I know that He wants you to live a fulfilled life and that that comes from knowing Him.


God's followers disappoint Him all the time - probably more than those who don't follow Him. But He still loves us. Just like He loves you, no matter who you are, what you've done or what you feel.


If you're gay and think that God might be real, but don't know how to get the two to match up, talk to someone who's been there.


Trust me:


God is good. And He made you for Him to love you.

Promises, Promises

What does it mean to respond to God's promises?

Is it building your life as though God's promises are just facts? Rather than hoping that God might one day be in a good enough mood to maybe keep His word?

Read Yep, There’s One For That, a blog post by Mark Altrogge of The Blazing Center, which explains why God's promises are better than iPhone apps.

Growing Restless

A sure sign that I'm becoming restless is the need to change the CD every time I get into the car.

What do you do when you get restive?

The Life Worth Living

"Don't tell me you need a life as well as/in addition to/away from this. This is a life!"

This is what Donovan Coetzee, the South African national leader of the Assembly of God church group, once said about church. I love it.

So often we say we can't serve at a church event or can't commit to a certain role at the church, because it will take up to much time and, "I do have a life too, you know!"

But you don't think it's acceptable to have a life away from your spouse, do you?

So how can it be that we need a life away from the most important relationship we'll ever have and the only relationship that will last into eternity?

This is a life. The only life worth living.

Merely God

"It is at her centre, where her truest children dwell, that each communion is closest to every other in spirit, if not in doctrine. And this suggests that at the centre of each there is a something, or a Someone, who against all divergences of belief, all differences of temperament, all memories of mutual persecution, speaks with the same voice."

- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

No Debate (Part Four) - Just Choice

In giving us free will, God even allows us to choose whether to love Him or not. To return His love or not.

Because He loved us first.

Wow.

(1 John 4:19)

A Debate (Part Three) - God or God?

I had some difficulty deciding whether to publish this post or not; I realise it may come across as unsympathetic and offensive to some. So if you're going to read it, please read it through to the end before giving your final verdict.  


On Monday I spoke about Jesus healing a man born blind and how the disciples (and many of us) were blind to the point of the story – which was not the man's blindness, but rather Jesus' healing of him.

Yesterday's post dealt with the question of God's fairness.

Now if you're still not satisfied – if you still think, "Yes, but there are actual Biblical instances of God being unfair," then this post is for you.

"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."

-    Exodus 20:4–6

"How is that fair to the poor, innocent children?" you may ask, "Why should they be punished for the sins of their parents?"

Now I would point out that before God put this into action, He warned the people about it. This is, in fact, included in the Ten Commandments given to the Israelites. It was a direct consequence to their sin. If their children ended up cursed, it would be because of their disobedience, not because of God's unfairness. In this way, the parents were accountable for the lives of their children.

Let's also not forget the other side of the coin – the rewards promised to the descendants of the faithful in verse 6.

What else would you suggest God do to encourage obedience, after rescuing the people from slavery in Egypt and then watching them bow down to a golden farm animal? Perhaps God made this law to teach the Israelites about legacy – what had they been leaving for their children. After all, the generations to come would surely be more responsive, having suffered for their parents' sins and not want the same for their children to come.

And perhaps God knew that some, even if it were only a few, would respond because of their children. If they wouldn't do it for themselves, they would it for their children.

And is it not true that most people today, whether they believe in God or not, still believe that parents are and should be responsible for their children?

Thank the Lord that Jesus abolished this law when he died in atonement for our sins.

And with that God turned the whole law on its head – instead of punishing the sinners' children, He sent His only Son to be punished for the sins of every single person ever to have breathed the air of this earth.

If you still have doubts or questions, feel free to ask/comment. I don't have all the answers, but maybe we can figure them out together.