The Black Sheep of the Family

Ok friends, we have have a huge misconception that needs a little clearing up.  This particular blog post is being written to discuss the commonly avoided subject of a 'Christian' family having a homosexual family member(s) and now that family member(s) being seen as the 'black sheep' of the family.

First, notice I put the word 'Christian' in quotes in the paragraph above.  The reason for this is because many people consider themselves or their families as Christian because they are good, because they have a God consciousness, because they are of a particular nationality, because they live in a particular place (like the United States, England, Australia, South America, Texas...), because they have not committed heinous crimes, and more.  Spoiler alert, those things do not make a person or a family Christian.  

Second, you will see 'black sheep' above also in quotes above.  This is because we, as sinful people, tend to measure each other by our personal standards and beliefs.  We label some sins and actions as bad and stamp those with the 'black sheep' label, and other sins as no-so-bad and let those slide with a shrug and a pass.  

Now for the words that drove me to write this blog post.  My precious cousin, who I have ALWAYS loved, wrote this: 

"I’ve always been okay being the Black Sheep in my family."  

Then she clarifies her statement with: 

"I’m the lesbian democrat that moved from TX to OR."

Kelly, this is for me, you, and maybe a whole lot of other people.  So lets dive in.  

Sheep is a great term to use for all of us in the human race.  The Bible calls us sheep.  Jesus calls us sheep in John 10.  David calls Jesus our Shepard in Psalm 23.  And guess what, being called sheep is not a compliment.  Sheep are dirty, smelly, need help with EVERYTHING, and they follow the crowd even if the crowd is running off a very high and jagged cliff.  They do not think well for themselves.  They must be led, guarded and cared for by a good shepherd, or else they will be neglected, get sick, get hurt and possible even self destruct until death.  That describes sheep, and according to the Word of God, that describes us.  We are sheep. 

Misconception:  Being a lesbian makes you a black sheep.  Were gonna get real clear here.  Being a lesbian does not make you a black sheep.  WE ARE ALL BLACK SHEEP at some point during our lives, and many, if not most of us in the human race will stay black sheep for our entire life.  

What causes us to be black sheep?  SIN.  All sin.  Any sin.  There is no BIG sin or little sin, sin is sin, and it is what makes us ALL BLACK SHEEP.  Isaiah 59:2 states, "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." (NKJV)  

It does not say your homosexuality, your murder, your political party...it says sins.  Homosexuality is NOT the dividing line.  Being born into the lineage of the old sinful nature of the fallen Adam is the dividing line.  And God HATES our sins.  All of them.  They separate us from Him.  These sins keep us in bondage.  They blind us from the Truth (the Bible says that Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Light), so sin keeps us from the Truth that IS Jesus.  And that is scary because Jesus is not only the Truth, but He is also the Way.  Way?  What way?   Jesus is the way away from sin, away from the consequence of sin, which is death and hell, and the way toward truth and everlasting Life, freedom and a joy that overflows from within no matter the circumstances we face without.

There is absolutely nothing we can do to remove the black from our fleece.  Being good does not remove the stains on our wool.  We are black as sin.  We are black sheep.

Isaiah 64:6 (NIV) says, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."

Friends, our sins sweep us away.  They start off small and enticing like a gentle breeze or a soft lapping wave.  They feel good and and thrill us.  We let the lusts of our body be pulled into the calling of that breeze or wave and allow it to pull us stronger and stronger, deeper and deeper until we are caught up in a tornado or tsunami of sin, drowning and being pulled apart by the very thing we thought was once so enjoyable.  We are in bondage to the sins we've chosen, and they call to us so we can have our momentary thrill, until we are lost in the pain of always seeking that next 'feel good' moment while simultaneously losing our soul.

We gossip until we hurt everyone around us.

We lie until our thoughts are so twisted we can no longer remember the truth.

We hang onto our addictions until our addictions grip us in their vice and refuse to let go.

We use our bodies for what 'feels good' until the normal pleasures no longer thrill us and we have to move to deeper and more perverted lusts.  

We call on ungodly spirits and enjoy the games, teasing, and power until that playful power begins to demand unthinkable things and we are unable to leave its grasp.

Sins start off small, fun, and a bit thrilling, but they sweep us away to languish in the ocean until we are eaten alive by the shark that is Satan and send us to hell.  That is how sin works.  It is deceitful, vain, and a liar.  

Yet there IS a way out.  We do not have to stay trapped in sin.  Remember, even sins that feel good are wrong.  If what we are doing does not line up with the holiness of God it is sin.  And we are all sinners.  Holiness, which is God, demands perfection.  Not because God is harsh and doesn't love us, but because any fault, misstep, lie, lust, hate, sin...standing before God, even the tiniest speck of sin, just one rude thought or slip of the tongue standing before a Holy and Perfect God would cause us to be utterly destroyed in His Holy presence.  He would not destroy us, His Holiness would destroy us because of our unholy sins.  Unholiness can not stand or survive in the presence of pure holiness.  Let that sink in.  Unholiness CAN NOT SURVIVE in the presence of holiness.  

So now what?  

Jesus.  Jesus is what.  

Jesus is God and is the Son of God.  "In the beginning was the Word.  And the Word was with God and the Word WAS God." (John 1:1)  The Bible clearly states that Jesus is the Word.  Jesus was in the beginning.  Jesus was and is God.  And Jesus came to live on this sinful earth, in a body of flesh, yet live a perfect life without sin; FOR YOU.  Jesus lived a perfect life without sin for you and for me and for everyone centuries past and future.  For all.  And being God and having come as a man he had the power to conquer sin, death, hell and the grave once and for all.

2 Corinthians 5:21 guarantees, "God made him who had no sin (Jesus) to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

John 3:16-18 tells us, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son (Jesus), that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."

And when we choose Jesus, the lamb of God that lived a perfect life, was slain on a cross as a sacrifice for all mankind, and raised from the dead defeating Satan, death, hell, the grave and SIN for us, then we can now shed our black fleece and become new creatures through Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:17-19, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old as gone, the new is here!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."

Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool."  Do you see it?  White as wool.  Sheep with white wool, not black fleece.  We can be set free from being black sheep, we can now be white sheep with Jesus as our Shephard.

It is an easy thing to do, but you must first count the cost.  The cost is living a life set apart.  Set apart from what?  A life set apart from the worldly desires that so entice us.  This may mean giving up an 'enjoyable' sin.  This may mean losing friends when they shun you for your new stance.  This may mean being misunderstood as you attempt to love a person yet call them out of their lifestyle of sin.  But guess what, it is FREEDOM and feels freeing; like a weight being lifted off of your shoulders, a weight you never knew you carried.  

When you ask Jesus to wash you white as snow, to be your Lord and Savior you are now free to NOT sin.  When before you were simply following a life of sin, you are now able to turn away from sin and still have a very fun, thrilling, joyful and amazing life.  There is so much more joy, freedom, and life on the 'Jesus side' of salvation than on the 'black sheep' side of sin.

And how do you get washed white as snow and lose your black fleece?  You just ask!  You  repent of your sins, declare that you are a sinner and that you are walking a road to hell.  Acknowledge that you are not following God, but that you need to.  You apologize for those sins and turn away from them asking Jesus to be your Lord, to be your savior, and to literally be the 'boss' of your life.  That's right, you now listen to God and follow Him.  Just ask Him, he will hear you and transform you into an amazing, new and beautiful creature.  

Oh, and don't just ask Him to save your soul so you can go to heaven as if in a 'get out of hell free card'.  Too many people do that and call themselves Christians.  And maybe they are, but God knows our heart.  God does not look on our outward appearance, but rather God looks on the heart.  We cannot hide from God.  We can't say a prayer with our lips and fool God by keeping a black heart.  No!  Allow Him to save, change, transform all of you.  Your spirit, which is eternal and will go to heaven, through this transformation, once your life here on earth is over.  Your soul, which is your mind, the way you think can also be transformed.  And, your body, in which you live out your daily life, can also be fully set free and healed through your salvation.  When you give God/Jesus all three parts of you, He is faithful to begin, continue and complete an excellent work in you.

Let us be clear, being a lesbian, a democrat, or living in a particular area does not make you a black sheep.  We were all black sheep...we only became white sheep when we surrendered all of our self to a Holy God, and no one is too far gone to take that step.

Also, the true 'white sheep' LOVE the so called 'black sheep'.  We LOVE YOU!  We were once you.  We just want you to experience the same freedom we have experienced, and to spend an eternity with you by our side.  I love you, pray for you, and always will.