What the Legalizing of "Homosexual Marriage" In Illinois Means for the Church

Last Wednesday morning I awoke to some news that I had known
was coming, but it still shocked and saddened me—the
state of Illinois, where I live, is legalizing “homosexual marriage.”

At the time I was feeding my then three-week-old baby boy,
Hayden. As I silently mourned the depravity of our society, I also mourned for
him and his future in the world in which he will grow. “What will things be
like for him when he is my age?” was the question on my mind.

One word really summed up my feelings about the matter—defeated.

It’s easy for Christians to feel defeated when a decision is
made which legalizes and legitimizes immorality. We feel like we are players in
a hopeless tragedy. We are demoralized, and depressed.

As I was sitting in my living room, watching the news
coverage and feeding my son, my mind wandered to the New
Mexico case of a wedding photographer who refused to photograph a “homosexual
wedding.” She has been taken to court, and the courts have not ruled in her
favor. I wondered, “Will I be the object of harassment someday if a homosexual
couple comes knocking on my office door, demanding that I officiate their
wedding? I will say no, on moral
grounds. What will happen to me?”

Now that’s assuming that a couple actually did ask. But it’s not out of the
question any more, is it? Plenty of people today think you can be a practicing
homosexual and be pleasing to God. Is it that much of a stretch to think I
could be asked?

It’s scary people—really scary.

Sometimes it seems as though truth and morality are losing
ground that they will never regain. That thought is both depressing and
terrifying—and the product of a defeated
mindset. For a time I allowed myself to wallow in self-pity, and the feelings
stemming from the apparent defeat and demise of morality in our society.

But then I started thinking more clearly. I asked myself
this question: What does the passage of this new law (or any like it) really
mean for the church? The answer came to me so clearly and suddenly that it
almost startled me. At first I thought I was wrong. But now I don’t think I am.

What does the
legalizing of “homosexual marriage” mean for the congregation where I worship?
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

I'm not saying it will have absolutely no effect—for that matter, it may even distract us from some internal issues that actually could have a negative impact if our
attention is drawn away from them. What I'm suggesting is that it changes absolutely nothing about who we are, or what we are doing.

Let me explain.

Yes, the situation is sad and distressing, and I’m not
saying that it doesn’t matter. Yes, I mourn that our law condones sin, and I am
not complacent to that fact. Yes, I know that some people of a weaker
disposition will be deluded in their way of thinking because of it. But the church will survive, and may even
thrive.

The body of Christ has withstood many tests that are much
harsher than this one. There have been times in history in which things have
been comparatively worse for morality, the first century being one of those
times. Solomon reminds us that, “What has been is what will be, and what has
been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun,”
(Ecclesiastes 1:9, ESV). Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking our situation
is new, or even unique.

Even Paul reminds us that the trials and temptations we face
are “common to man,” i.e., other people have and will experience the things we
experience (1 Corinthians 10:13). If the church has made it this long, and
through even tougher times, shouldn’t we expect her to keep going now? She’s not dead yet, nor will she die!

But those thoughts alone aren’t the only reasons that I know
the church will be okay, even if it isn’t flourishing in the way that you and I
tend to define success (i.e., having millions and millions of disciples in the United States).

To those who are so worried—are YOU going to quit because
such laws are passed? I know I’m not. You probably aren’t either. In fact,
these situations tend to embolden us. They make us stronger, and able to endure
more (consider James 1:2-4).

For that matter, remember that sometimes things have to get
to the point of a more severe contrast (like the prodigal son’s pig pen, Luke
15:15-19) before people see reality, and they get better. You will stick it
out, and the church will not be harmed because of you. In fact, it may be
helped.

More than anything, when you start to feel defeated,
remember the message of the New Testament, and especially of the book of
Revelation—Jesus Christ has won!

The Bible doesn’t tell us that Christ may will, or will win,
but that he has won! Consider Jesus’
words in John 16:33:

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may
have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, ESV)

Paul reminds us that God gives
us the victory through Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57). That’s because there is no
question about who the winner is in the struggle between good and evil—Christ is the winner! Really, making it
through life to the ultimate victory is simply about you and I making sure that
we stay on the right side, the side of
the victor!

If you are a member of the Church, you are on the side that has already defeated the world! The church
isn’t going to die! She has already won!

I liken this whole situation to a lopsided basketball game.
You know, the kind of game where one team is so much better than the other that
they pretty much win simply by showing up. In the waning seconds of the game,
the score is 112-6. With one second left, the losing team launches a ball from
the opposite side of the court, and it goes in with a satisfying swish. There’s
pandemonium, and celebrating in the bleachers! They just shot an amazing
three-point “buzzer beater!” But then reality sets in for them—the amazing
“buzzer beater” really meant nothing, because
the game had been lost long ago.

This situation is just
like that. Evil seems to have an exciting moment of victory, but it is fleeting
and hollow. For the forces of evil, the game has been lost long ago. If you are
on the side of good, don’t feel defeated. Instead, feel empowered and victorious—through Christ, you will overcome it all,
too!

—Daniel