Embraced by God...

5.  Accepting Freedom: 

The Church has continually run away from freedom, but we're not running anymore

“You stupid people in Galatia!....How is it that you received the Spirit--was it by the practice of the Law, or by believing in the message you heard?  Having begun in the Spirit, can you be so stupid as to end in the flesh [Law this, Law that, etc.]?....It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 3:1-3; 5:1, NIV).
 

Two millennia have come and gone, but most churches today, like this “stupid” church Paul wrote to so long ago in Galatia, are still struggling with how to implement the concept of freedom in an actual church setting.  

Many of us would like someone to tell us what to do—if you do these ten things, then God will be happy with you.  In contrast, God sees freedom as a necessity, for it trains us to be like Jesus the Christ, who walked in Spirit-led freedom.  We fear freedom, for it asks so much more of us than rules ever did.  Freedom is messy, while rules are neat and clean.  Freedom asks us what we think, while rules specify exactly what we are to do. 

Despite all its failings and its continual struggles with freedom, the Church has learned a lot from the Spirit over the past two thousand years—change has been slow but real.  Apparently it is part of God’s plan to let “his” Church awkwardly find its way as the Spirit gently prods us along in the right direction.  By gaining such a historic perspective, we are encouraged to keep finding both the courage to help the Church move forward—whether it be with baby steps or giant leaps (e.g., Vatican II)—and the patience to wait when change seems far away. 

It is a good and enriching thing to be an active participant in a community of faith, but don’t be oppressed by your church’s own issues of bondage.  It’s sad when a church rejects any of us for being queer; yet these churches are just filled with flawed people like you and me.  Forgiveness is a powerful gift of liberation, so let’s share it freely with those who fear GLBT persons.  If you live in a city, then you’re likely to find that in fact many of the churches are open to having GLBT persons as members, so ask around (e.g., GLBT organizations can point out “welcoming” churches to you).