That line has been said so often it has become cliché.
But this past week, I felt as if it were true...
Let me be clear, it does not matter on what side of the
Bruce/Caitlyn issue you are on.
This issue is how it was approached.
My Facebook feed was filled with derision and contempt. And
it was mostly coming from self-identified Christians. So very few were filled
with compassion and understanding that I spent so much time scrolling through
my newsfeed just to find a couple that would stop me from getting angry.
Whether or not a sex change actually changed Bruce Jenner’s
sex was not the main issue in all of this.
The main issue was that he was in pain, and we knew it, but couldn’t
care less about him until “he became a she”.
You could see it in the interviews. You could hear it on television. If
you kept up with this story, even just a little bit, the pain was obvious, yet
so few of us prayed or cared about him.
I hope we start
praying for Caitlyn though.
We all know that, regardless of gender, we deal with the
problems of identity and self-worth. Changing our private parts doesn’t change
that.
Once the photoshoots
ends and the TV spots cease, Caitlyn will have still have to face inner demons
like the rest of us. So instead of mocking, hating or condescendingly educating,
we should be praying. Praying that those whole deal with any identity issues
will come to find their identity in Christ.
We know that telling Caitlyn she’s still a guy won’t change
anything so why write it? We should be telling her that Jesus can take all her
pains and insecurities and make them something unimaginably beautiful. That
Jesus can give her the affirmation and love that’s been missing and that He can
fill the void this sex change was searching to do.
I do not praise Caitlyn for what occurred. I personally do
not find it courageous.
However, I do not find it disgusting, and I do not
label this as sick or filthy.
The only real emotion I feel in all of this is sadness.
We are politicizing a
deep, personal struggle, and the only remedy to her pain is being put on the
back burner for status likes.
So I want to challenge you, my brothers and sisters, pray
for those struggling with who they are. Pray that God will grant you the
opportunity to sit and listen to their struggles. And pray that, in due time,
you are able to share the beautiful and transforming gift of a relationship
with God.
Let the Holy Spirit change their lives, rather than trying
to do so yourself.
You don’t have to agree with where I stand,
and that’s okay. I just felt compelled to share my heart.
May God find glory in all of this.
Until next time,
Noel
