Low on the Go!

suppression and ignorance.

i've been meaning to write my thoughts on my friend Joshua Robinson's posts about the Canadian Mother's book, which was issued by the government of Canada in the 1920s.

it may be appropriate to view them here and here before continuing.

i was intending to comment on how God's Word is so beautiful, and has so many positive ramifications for our lives--if it is used correctly and appropriately.
Sometimes, i think its easy to see the "olden days" as the good days. when people were "godlier" and Canada was a Christ-fearing nation. isn't that our tendency? We read books like The Canadian Mother's Book and think to ourselves, "Wow, Canada was such a great place back then. people were solid Christians and the world was rosy." Sometimes, i think we have the tendency to place history on a pedestal, and sweep ugly secrets under the rug. Ugly secrets like how God's Word, though more prevalent back then, was twisted by the sinful hands of humanity and used punitively to suppress and subjugate women, children and minorities. We look at printings issued by the Government of Canada back in the 1800s and the 1900s and think to ourselves, "wow, look at all that Scripture." But hardly ever think about how Scripture was warped and twisted by humans so that minorities weren't even counted as human beings. now, i'm not saying i don't agree with the book, i think its beautiful. i just think that history taints its beauty with some form of hypocrisy.

i was going to comment more on this, in a more elaborate manner, but instead i want to link this to something that happened whilst i was on the subway this evening.

i was returning from guitar lessons and i was sitting on the subway, heading eastbound. as we stopped at Christie, these two men got into the subway car. i remember thinking to myself, wow. indeed, they were two of the best looking men i've seen before. but they were very obviously gay. anyways, as they stood cuddling, i heard this voice behind them cry out "DEMONS!"
at first, i didn't really pay attention. There's often many people with mental disorders riding the subway, who scream out various obsceneties, profanities, or just plain poppycock. But it soon became clear that this woman was quite sane, and was not just yelling random profanities into the abyss, but rather, yelling profanities at the two men.

"DEMONS!!"
"GOD IS GOING TO JUDGE YOU AND YOU ARE GOING TO HELL!"
" JESUS WILL CAST YOU AWAY YOU FAGGOTS!"

now, if you know me well, you know that two things i really can't stand are racism and homophobia. these two things make my blood boil. especially when they come from people who claim to be christian. it just makes everyone think christians are all homophobic haters who are all about judging and hating anyone who isn't perfect.... which is the antithesis of who we are called to be. Paul says it best,

though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I
received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our
Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The
saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

each of us, no matter how "good" we try to be are utterly sinful in nature. we are totally depraved beings. so when i hear "christians" rage and rant at people who are blinded by the veils over their eyes, i get frustrated at this one-sided portrayal of God and Christ that they give others.

Anyways, enraged, i stood up, got out of my seat and exclaimed, "i don't see how what you're saying is very representative of Christ's love or God's love."

By now, the whole subway car was staring at the two of us. me, this short chinese girl with a guitar and this black business woman.

so the woman replies, "well they are fucking faggots! God help this country, it is full of shit men. where does this shit come from?"

someone else yelled out, "apparently from your mouth!"

and she yelled out, "i don't know where we're living these days, a country so full of fucking faggots."

so, being the smart alec, i replied "umm, we're living in Canada...you know, the democracy?"

and i walked out of the subway car at st. george. behind me, i heard her yelling at me and the two gay men, "you're all going to hell, bastards!"

as we walked up the stairs, the two men turned around and thanked me. i told them, "i'm a Christian, and i really wanted to apologize on behalf of any "christians" who ever do that to you."

and they looked me straight in the eye and said "thank you. you have no clue how many christians do this to us all the time. so we really appreciate what you've done for us. its good to know that there are people on our side." in that moment, looking into their eyes, i saw lives full of pain, sorrow and lostness.

their train arrived, but i wish i could have told them that there are no sides in this messy world. its just a world full sinners who are in need of God's grace and mercy.

as i caught my train heading southbound, this guy with loads of piercings came up to me and said, "wow, props to you man. thank you so much for saying what you did. i can't believe what just happened."

so i told him, "well, you know, the Bible says we're all sinners, not just people who are homosexual, and i didn't want people to see a misrepresented Christ."

we talked for a bit more, and then he got off.

thinking back on the situation, i wish i had an opportunity to clarify myself to everyone who heard me on that subway car. i wish i could have shared what the gospel really is. i don't want to be seen as condoning homosexual acts, but i do want to still be loving homosexuals.

anyways, my point of all of this is that often times, we, as human beings, turn the beautiful and delightful Word of God into a tool used to belittle and berate others. when we choose to only take certain bits and stretch them out of context, we enter into dangerous territories. as ambassadors of Christ, we need to be striving to know God's Truth and His character and applying it in our lives. It is true, God's Word is offensive to some, which means we may turn some people away, just by nature of following Christ.

For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and
those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the
fragrance of life.

Knowing this, we should not be afraid to declare God's Word to the nations. At the same time, let us not be like the people in history who have used God's word for their own selfish ambitions, gains and pride. Let us not turn people away because of our sinful pride. Let us declare God's glory to the nations speaking truth, seasoned with grace.