The Challenge We Face Now


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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,” so goes the opening line of Charles Dickens’ classic, “A Tale of Two Cities,” that was published in 1859. [1]

It appears Dickens’ words could have described the present. 

Our time.

Our young people who participated in the Ratio Christi 2015 conference. From my FB photo album

One of the breakout sessions that our young people attended when they joined the just recent Ratio Christi Philippines 2015 was, “Homosexuality: A Response from the Bible and from Science.” When I asked why, they answered something like, “We want to know how to handle it.” As parents, we need to know how to handle it, too. Some joke about it. Others just dismiss it as a non-issue. Like the proverbial wet soap, we are not quite sure how to handle it.

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Just more than a month ago, “actor, race-car enthusiast, and 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics decathlon gold medallist” Bruce Jenner declared in a “tell-all interview” with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer that, “For all intents and purposes, I am a woman.” [2]
People look at me differently. They see you as this “macho male.” But my heart and my soul and everything I do in life… it is part of me. That female side is part of me. That's who I am. [3]
Now, Bruce goes by the name “Caitlyn Jenner.” 

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Indeed, the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) challenge is one of the burning issues of the day. And, it’s not a fad that will fade. It’s as old as the events Genesis described. And it’s here to stay.

How do we as a church handle issues like the LGBT community, for example? We can no longer hide our heads under the sand. We cannot deny it. We cannot merely denounce it. We have to deal with it the way our Lord Jesus would. What would our Lord Jesus do? What would He say? 

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Is our time the worst of times? Isn’t it that the Bible predicted “that in the last days perilous times will come” (2 Timothy 3:1, NKJV)? But, it could also be the best of times. Colossians 4:5-6 command us
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. 
Brothers and sisters, let us respond to this challenge wisely, not foolishly. 

NOTE: This is my letter to our church, Filinvest Community Christian Fellowship, in our devotional guide (Volume 1, Issue 15) for the message on “How to Treat People Right (Part 1)” last June 7.

[1] “A Tale of Two Cities,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_Two_Cities, accessed June 6, 2015.

[2] “Bruce Jenner: Yes, I am a woman,” Rappler, retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/.

[3] Ibid.

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