Todd~
We need more parents who love their children like Ron Woolsey’s parents and sister did.
Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The above Bible verse refers to all.
Exodus 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.
Which part of Exodus 20:5 do we as SDA’s not understand? I have not read a response from the replies which accurately describes our sinful nature. We have no problem accepting other health issues we inherit from our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. Ah! but when it comes to the inclination of sexual sin (heterosexual or homosexual), we want to wash our hands and scratch our heads, and ask “how did this happen?”
We knew that our daughter was not a “girlie girl” from the time that she was two. She did not want to wear dresses or play with dolls. She wanted to wear overalls, and play with trucks and guns. Our eldest daughter is a “girlie girl” in every sense of the word. So, what happened? Well, I will tell you. Both my husband and I are third generation SDA’s. We were both educated in SDA schools all through college. We attended church regularly and never had any form of pornography or inappropriate television viewing in our home. You could say that we were an ideal SDA family. Did this help our youngest daughter in any way? Not really. However, she WAS AFRAID to tell us that she was attracted to girls because she was SURE that we would disown her. She almost died of Anorexia as she tried to prevent her body from developing in puberty. When I think back on those days, I so wish that we would have had a better understanding of who God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit truly are. We were so inoculated with hate and fear of homosexuality from school and church. Heterosexual adulterers, swingers, liars, fornicators, etc. got forgiveness from the church. But homosexuals? well now, that is another category of sin. Really?
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Is there a passage in the Bible stating that we have to be perfect before we can come to Jesus?
We have not disowned our daughter. She is our flesh and blood. She has inherited a tendency from the sinful nature in our DNA from us and who knows who else in our ancestry line. We had an uncle who was a homosexual. My father was an unfaithful husband (and he studied the ministry!) My father’s father abandoned his mother with six children to chase other women. One of my uncles is a pedophile who has been in prison for his crimes against children. My husband committed adultery. I forgave him and we have never been separated. Why? because this is what God wanted me to do. I didn’t feel like it, but I chose to obey God’s will for our family. Do I regret obeying God’s will? Absolutely not! God has blessed and protected our home in so many amazing ways. My hubby rededicated his life to Jesus and has been the spiritual leader that God asked him to be when we got married.
We need to love our children no matter how they come into this world. Pray to our Heavenly Father without ceasing for their protection and for the wisdom needed to be the parents that God wants us to be. I am only concerned in what God thinks, not in what the SDA church thinks. God is not a denomination. He is much more than that.
I know a family of six siblings. Two are males and four are females. One of the males and one of the females is a homosexual. This inclination was inherited. It was not sexual abuse or pornography. It was inherited. God did not give them this inclination, He only gave them the “breath of life.” God is not responsible for what we inherit.
Let us take responsibility and accept that in our sinful nature we are flawed. We will not be transformed until the Second Coming of Jesus.
Let us spend our energy in loving people to Jesus Christ who is the one and only Savior. If the claim is true that, “church is for sinners”, the SDA churches should be full of fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves. liars, murderers, coveters. These are the people who need Jesus the most.
The ONLY WAY to witness for God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to others is in how we treat people who need God’s love, grace, and forgiveness the most.