The Cows Will Come Home, But We Ain't Waitin'!

The use of the phrase, "when the cows come home", to refer to something that is not too quickly forthcoming strikes a contrast to another phrase, "when heck freezes over" (okay, I know its not "heck"!). The latter implies that something is simply not ever going to happen; the former that it will, but its going to quite possibly take a very long time! The name of this blog refers to something that is probably going to take a very long time, namely the full acceptance of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, trans-genders, et al, by society, and particularly by Christians. Even more specifically, the full acceptance that one can be gay and Christian! But the fact that the name of the blog is not "When Heck Freezes Over" means that there is, in my estimation, hope that this acceptance will come! (And I still know the word is not really "heck").

Yes, I believe that one day the world, even the USA, will fully accept us homosexual folks. One day we will have complete equal rights and no one will say we have "special rights" and complain. One day we will have marriage equality. One day Christians everywhere, even here in the USA, will accept us and realize that the Bible doesn't really tell them what they once thought it did about us. One day no one will contest the fact that we can be both gay and Christian, and no one will question if we are truly Christian, or truly saved, if we continue to be homosexual after we accept Christ as our Lord. One day. When the cows come home. Who knows when, or how long.

But guess what? Those of us who are gay, and know Jesus, we aren't waiting for those cows to get home!

We're not going to wait for our brothers and sisters in Christ to get around to resolving all their debates about us. We've already started following the Lord! We have already sensed His calling. We've surrendered our lives to Him, and we don't need to go out into the cow pasture and step all in the manure in order to try and get those cows to come home any sooner than they are willing, either. I used to be so concerned with wanting to convince Christians who opposed homosexuals, that they were wrong. Really, who cares! I'm done, and I think we all need to be done, with that. Its time to simply follow the Lord and leave the rest to Him!

The cows will begin to come home, in fact they are already trickling in. They will come home more and more as they begin to see us fruits bearing fruit! As the Gay Christian community lives out authentic Christian community, as individual gay Christians live authentic Christian lives, people will begin to become confounded and ultimately be led to re-examine "what their Bible tells them so", and the Holy Spirit will begin to bring truth and conviction to Christians everywhere, and those cows will come home. It is going to take time. We must persevere and not become discouraged as time goes on. In fact, the reason we are following the Lord and living our lives in accordance to His purposes, forging authentic lives and community, is not merely to convince other Christians to change their views!

Our purpose is in being about God's business in our time and generation, and within the homosexual community; its about the Great Commission! There are people that need to know the Lord, whom He wants to bring to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ so that they may spend eternity with Him and with us, and with our un-accepting family members in Christ as well! Besides that, God wants to advance His Kingdom in the world today, and He asks us to participate in doing that! John Lennon's imagination is nothing compared to what a worldwide community of truly compassionate Christians of all types can do to transform this planet! Not that it will ever be any kind of Utopia until Christ Himself returns, but He is asking us to prepare the way for His return!

I truly believe that God is doing a new thing. I believe that He is using the outcasts, including the homosexual community, to begin bringing this new thing about, to bring a new reformation to His Church. We can't wait until those cows come home! We can't worry about going out into the fields and dragging them home, kicking and screaming. No, the time is come for us to put aside all that distracts us from our relationship with Jesus Christ. The time is now to simply be about being obedient to our Lord and love Him; with all our mind, all our heart, soul, and strength. And love others as ourselves. The cows will come home when they are ready.