Monday, October 01, 2007

This one will get me into trouble....

Update:
An anonymous poster submitted a couple of sarcastic comments, the last of which was:
"Thank you Karen, for helping us to think and to expand our minds."
I'm assuming that "anonymous" thinks that I think I'm pretty darn smart. What I am is convicted. Convicted of having had hard and harsh feelings toward homosexuals.
That's over. Who below is the worst sinner? Answer: all of them. They all fall short of the Glory of God for one reason or another--just like the rest of us. None of us measure up, but praise Him, we were redeemed at Calvary.

Four Men
The Tales of Dave, Wayne, Peter, and Dan


Dave has been with his beloved for over 25 years. It’s been a difficult partnership because of his inability to remain faithful. Many times he has been kicked out and many times he has been forgiven and allowed to return. Dave is intelligent and gifted—he is an airline pilot. He loves to ride his bike and walk with his canine companion, Zoe. Dave is a believer but doesn’t attend church very often. One of his closest friends passed away suddenly last month. He now owns and drives his friend’s van as a tribute to him.

Wayne is a huge sports fan and owns a small restaurant. He is a believer, and one of his favorite things is going to baptisms. He doesn’t go to church much, though, he appreciates the celebrations that happen there. He loves jogging, and walking his dog, and has an infectious laugh. Truthfully, he's a bit of a slob. He has been with his beloved over 20 years, too, however, they have remained faithful to one another.

Peter is a pastor. He is the son of a rather famous minister. When his dad died, Peter wasn’t the heir to the corporate ministry that his father built up, but contested the will and after a few years of battling, won the corporation back from the people who were named by his father to inherit. Peter has a lot of experience in film making and producing. Peter knows his Bible, has a good sense of fun, and has a devoted congregation; it’s small, but one that has remained for several years, particularly the youth ministry. He is in his early 60's and very fit. . . appearances are very important to him. He has been with his beloved, also a pastor, for over 35 years. They are truly in love.

Dan is a skilled carpenter and a believer. He’s been with his beloved for many years. He makes beautiful cabinets, tables, and is able to fix just about anything around the house. Home Depot is his favorite place. He has a quick wit and good sense of humor. He used to be in a high-tech management job, but he has a problem with stress, so downsized his career. He is fighting a losing battle with his weight. He speaks his mind. For instance, just the other day at the store, he spied a woman parking in a handicapped place without a tag or license plate. He challenged her, and she replied she was only going in for moment. He asked her, “What if someone who is truly handicapped needs this spot?” She ignored him. Injustice bothers Dan.


Dave and his wife Anna are working very hard at reconciling. Peter remains pastor at his church and travels and speaks, often with his wife, Julie. Wayne and Dan are life partners for over 23 years.

30 comments:

kc bob said...

Won't get you in trouble with me :)

karen said...

I knew it wouldn't with you, KB. I know your heart too well!

Chris Ledgerwood said...

I had to read that twice, interesting! It's such a hot subject. But yeah, I'm with KB on this one!

karen said...

Ditto your kind heart, Chris. Yes, it is a hot subject. However, this is a true story; the names have been changed.
I reserve any judgment. Just thought it interesting.

Anonymous said...

You know my heart. The subject is so close to mine.

Gigi said...

Why would this get you in trouble....??

You write from your heart and those of us who read here listen with them as well....Are you suspecting some to have trouble with this??

karen said...

You are all good people. Thank you.
Believe me, this subject can and is causing some problems. . .

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
karen said...

I just deleted an anonymous comment. It wasn't really bad, just wondering about Wayne and Dan, do they fight, argue about money, etc.
Of course they do.
I just feel that if you have the gumption to post a comment, don't be a coward.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
kc bob said...

Did you know that you can prevent anonymous comenting?

karen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
karen said...

Yeah, KB...but then I have to moderate, right?

I'm not concerned with anyone seeing them before I delete them.

kc bob said...

Don't have to moderate ... under blogger/settings/comments/Who can comment? just say that only registered users can comment then anonymous folks will be unable to comment.

karen said...

Alrighty then! Thanks, Tech Bob!

karen said...

Will that make it hard for non-Blogger people, though?

Anonymous said...

Not the way you set it up. I just disliked giving Google all my info. And, until they fixed the login procedure, I couldn't comment on Google blogs, which made some people happy I'm sure!

Robert said...

lets call you karen in the lions den hehe courageous to take on the heat!!! seems like emotions get redhot on this and abortion almost than any other subject my friend your post was solid and thought inspiring bless you karen more and more

karen said...

LOL Robert...nah, I'm just learning a lot right now.

Kevin Knox said...

Hey Karen,

I'm trying to understand which conflict you expect. It seems you believe homosexuality to be sinful, having read your "update" comment, so that must not be it. That leaves your statement that all 4 of these people are believers while giving possible evidence that none of them are. (I mean it hardly seems worthwhile to stir up the hornets if none fly out of the nest, right? :-)

You believe every human will be saved, though I'm not sure whether you believe they will all be saved immediately after death, after being reincarnated for another opportunity, or after some kind of after death learning experience. Given that you believe in universal salvation, believing in the salvation of any four people would hardly be controversial, right?

So, let me pose this to you. Why did Jesus tell the parable of the ten virgins?

Matt 25:10-13
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.


Here you have 10 women come to celebrate the marriage of the Lord, all of whom had oil in their lamps. 5 of them, though, did not tend their lamps. The story ends with those 5 left in the outer darkness under the judgement that their Lord did not know them. If I understand how would you apply this story to your four friends, maybe I will understand more about the post in general.

karen said...

You might be reading more into my little story than I intended.

I wrote this the other day as I was thinking about the similarities of these 4 guys that I've known for a while. If you take the sexual orientation out of the picture, they are all the same. They struggle in life with one thing or another. But, throw the reality in there about their sexual orientation and many people decide that 2 are more "sinful" than the others.

I'm in a situation right now where this is the case, that gays are thought of as worse sinners than the rest of us--and that's what made me think of these guys. They are all imperfect, gay or straight, as are we all. This issue is causing a lot of pain.

I also thought about how I used to feel that way about gays, and was convicted and felt ashamed. Dan doesn't go to church because he isn't welcome.

I've discussed 1 Cor. 15:20-28 before, the order of salvation as Paul writes it.

However, my story has nothing to do with salvation. It has a lot to do with how people view others. I think most people got that.

karen said...

Did that sound snarky? Sorry. I'm out of sorts today. :-(

Bar L. said...

Oh, this is good stuff. You made the point very well. I've tried to make the same point a few times but your story is such a great illustration. You, snarky? Never!

Kevin Knox said...

My differential analysis of the exact words you used proves beyond any doubt that, yeah, I read too much into something again. :8)

Sorry sister. I won't be the last time. May the Lord lift you up today. (And there was certainly no snark factor in your comment.)

karen said...

Thanks Barbara and CP....I think I am a tad snarky, tho'. Thanks for cutting me slack! Off to the doc this afternoon.

You give me too much credit, CP! It doesn't take much to analyze my stuff! :-O

Anonymous said...

Isn’t it amazing how people read the same post and come up with totally different ideas as to what you meant. It’s kind of like the interpretation of the Bible. Many people read the same verse and come away with totally different ideas. Do you suppose that’s why there’s so many different translations, commentaries, and interpretations. I really need to learn to read Greek and Hebrew. Right, maybe in some other life.. Guess I’ll have to settle for a good literal translation…

karen said...

You're right, Don. It's the trials of communication, and I bet God just laughs at us. I imagine Him just laughing and saying, "They just don't get it. It's SO easy!"

Even the CLNT is flawed in some places. It's very frustrating. That's why I have so many Bibles, I guess. I go to one place--it's this way--the other, it's that way. Argh.

Anonymous said...

Human hands involved in translations & commentaries = possible error!

karen said...

sure that doesn't equal
"probable error"?

Joe said...

I believe "human involvement guaranteed prejudice"

I like your new header.