How Do You Feel?

I have been bombarded with questions recently about my feelings on "gay marriage." When I do not give what others perceive as the "correct answer," I notice that it is asked in a different way, yet it remains the same question.

So, for all of those enquiring minds that will not rest until the preacher's wife answers the burning question of the moment.....here are my thoughts, and they are solely MINE.

First, I feel that a lot of times when someone asks me a question regarding my feelings on a myriad of topics, they are not actually hoping to learn how I truly feel about something, they just would like to trip me up. Maybe, they even believe that as a pastor's wife, and a Christian, that ALL of my feelings and beliefs should perfectly line up with scripture! I wish that life were that simple. Sadly, I am a very flawed HUMAN being. While I know that I am not God, I do strive daily to be Christ like. It is a goal that, until the day I take my last breath, I will still be working toward.

Second, my answers will NOT be the same as every other Christian walking this earth. Just as many have very passionate beliefs regarding homosexuality and abortion, among other things, so do I. I may not walk around waving a banner and shouting from the rooftops what I believe and how I feel, but I still FEEL. Examining my heart on a daily basis is very important for me to keep me in right standing with my heavenly Father. So, that said, there are many things that I keep in my heart, deeply personal, between God and I.

This is what I will say.....I believe in "loving my neighbor."  Who is my neighbor? My neighbor is the unwed mother... the school teacher......the gay or lesbian couple..... the attorney.......the adulterous man or woman..... the preacher......the lying teenager..... the grocery store clerk.......the prostitute....the person that ignores the plank in their own eye and trying desperately to pull out the speck in another's......the abuser.....the elderly...the waitress....the college student, etc.

I believe in "loving my enemy." Who is my enemy? Anyone that doesn't believe exactly as I believe? No! Someone that is hostile towards me and is bent on destroying me. That could be ANYONE! I am forever vigilant in watching for the enemy that roams around like a lion looking to devour me. So far in this life, I haven't found that to be anyone that has committed what so many find to be the worst sin imaginable, homosexuality.

There are so many sins spoken of in the Bible. I am indeed a sinner. I am saved by GRACE. Thank God for His mercy anew each day! Where would I be without it?

So, my thoughts are this.....I am on this earth to LOVE. I can love ANYONE and EVERYONE because HE first loved me! I am going to love EACH and EVERY person put in my path in this lifetime. I am not going to ask "Are you gay?" "How much money do you have?" "Have you ever lied?" "Did you ever have an affair?" You see, I do not need to know all of that in order to love the way Jesus loves. Being a Christian has not made me one of the ELITE....or thrust me into an exclusive club. I am a sinner saved by grace...a dirty sinner made clean by Christ.

I eat with sinners. I hang out with sinners. I am even married to a sinner. (And so is he!)

I guess the way I answer the question "How do you feel.....?" my honest answer would have to be....I feel undeserving of God's perfect love. I feel humbled by His grace. Now, how do I make others feel and know this love?