God himself will tend us

This week the Church of England has sent a very stark message to all those who have turned their back on their homosexual past to follow Jesus.  By voting to bless same sex marriage they have told us that we were mistaken, that we shouldn’t have picked up our cross and followed Him, that our sacrifice was unnecessary.

However, the good news is, we don’t follow a denomination or a church body, we follow Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Our lived experience is that our sacrifice has been rewarded with a promise of eternal joy, and as a bonus, the living out of that joy in our lives today.  Talk to anyone who has chosen Jesus over their sexual identity and I predict that you will find a sold out lover of Jesus who is bearing much fruit. I’m not saying they never struggle; every Christian has their thorn, but they know what Jesus has done for them, they recognise the magnitude of his forgiveness and grace and they keep him close as they navigate the temptations of this world.  And from this exudes joy.

They recognise the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:11 – And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.  They embrace the transformative love of God who loves us enough, not to leave us in our sin, but to walk us out of it into new life.

Today, I have a message for the Bishops who have failed us.  The Bishops who are more scared of what the world says than what God says and who failed to take their role as shepherds of the whole flock seriously.  My message; we (as in those who feel hurt and insulted by your decision today), are going to be OK, because God has already got this all sorted.  You will be removed from tending his flock and God himself will tend us.  Ezekiel is clear about this:

This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them. “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.  As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.  Ezekiel 34:10 to 12  

So take courage fellow overcomers, it may feel like a day of clouds and darkness, yet God himself sees us, he will provide a nourishing feeding ground and a safe place for us to rest. What that looks like in terms of church membership remains to be seen, but you can trust that God sees you, knows you and will strengthen you to overcome this storm and the storms that threaten to follow in the woke culture so readily embraced by these redundant shepherds.

If anyone would like to join a community of like-minded Christians who recognise the transforming love of Jesus to honour him with their sexuality, please do reach out and we would love to welcome you to one of our weekly Zoom calls.