Shattering Hammers on The Rock
Picture Jesus Christ as an enormous rock . . . surrounded by piles of shattered hammer heads and countless men, women and children. They clutch new hammers and pound at the rock. They exhaust themselves, the hammers blow apart, and not a mark is left on the rock.
I thought of that picture this morning as I read a Statement discussing the Lord’s design for human life and our post-Christian era. Of course, issues of sexual identity and morality were in focus in the Statement.
The statement was released at a conference held in Nashville and addressed 14 core points. Approximately 150 leaders from various Christians traditions signed it. The Statement exhorts followers of Jesus to hold fast to His teaching on sexuality and humanity. The statement is biblically sound, strong, clear and compassionate. It reflects what is the consistent Judeo-Christian view of human sexuality as described in the Scriptures. The responses from many in the media predictably twisted Jesus’ statements and the entirety of the Scriptures’ teaching on human sexuality and the purpose of humanity. Some media comments were downright hateful. These writers obviously do not read the Bible and cherry-pick favored verses out of context and without understanding the Scripture's teaching.
Check out these two media responses:
. . . many discriminatory positions adopted by the Nashville Statement and . . . un-American toilet paper written by hypocrites.
. . . if making other humans feel less than human is a requirement for entry into heaven, I think I'll keep my soul with me, buried in the dirt, and It's an offense to God to not acknowledge that all humans are different, to ignore the fact that telling LBGT people that they're sinners, that their identity is wrong, that they're somehow imperfect, is wildly and dangerously damaging, not to mention a sin in and of itself.
The satirical Babylon Bee did well.
The world continues to fail to understand that the Lord is who He is. It does not matter what anyone wants Him to be. No one can change Him, His purposes or the order of His world. Beating on Him—and on His people—changes nothing about Him or His purposes. Man’s fist-shaking rebellion against the Maker always and ultimately is a loser . . . shattered hammers, hysterical haters of the Lord, haters of His people, self-inflicted destruction.
