God's Love
By Craig Manners
1/2/2016
Jesus Himself referred back to the beginning when talking about marriage; about God’s beautiful plan for men and women, for marriage, and for families.
Sometimes, governments make bad laws and get things very wrong. But that is no reason to abandon the truth about marriage and family, it just means we need to understand it more and live it out in the midst of a hostile society as best we can.
Remaining faithful to God is always the best thing for us to do and as happened with Daniel, this has earthly rewards as well as heavenly ones.
Many of the people warring with God and fighting to undermine the foundations of civilization and of the Bible, are doing so because they have embraced a quasi-religious movement which provides them with a brief filling of the void in their hearts. This is only ever brief and ultimately unsatisfying, as the only thing that can fill the hole in our hearts is Jesus Christ. Therefore, people often blow with the wind from one new movement to the next.
Many of these people may have had bad experiences at unfaithful churches, or with Christians, who after all are not perfect (which is why they needed Jesus in the first place).
Many of them do not know how much God loves them. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
So, I do not look upon them as enemies, but in hope as future forgiven brothers and sisters.
But, in the meantime, I see it as important to speak out against what they are doing, because it would not be loving to remain silent, and because what they are proposing will damage our society and harm children.
In the year ahead we will be bombarded with more of the same persistent arguments to change our marriage laws. Burying one's head in the sand and hoping this will go away is no longer an option for parents. If you are not talking to your children about this they will be doing so in their school playground or getting their answers from the media. It is better it comes from you than from the culture.
Marriage was founded by God as being for one man and one woman, Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve as the old joke goes. It is not something men have authority to change. It is simply and genuinely " born this way".
The move to undermine marriage is another step in the attempt to normalize damaging nonsense. God makes it clear what sex is and isn't.
Historically, God's reaction to widespread bad behavior when it was rampant in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah should be enough to convince Christians that going down this path will have devastating consequences for our nation.
Christians are to show love to all people, including those trapped in any sin including sexual immorality. We are, like God does with His people when He saves them, to show love to sinners.
We show zero love to someone by encouraging them, or affirming them, in their damaging behavior. Love requires us to speak up and act to defend marriage and family this year but to try to make it clear that it is the behavior we are against, not the people.
Normalizing unnatural and unhealthy behavior in our society, with the mental, emotional, financial and potentially physical damage this normalization process is doing to our nation's children, is a very clear form of child abuse.
Children need protection from dangerous behavior not encouragement toward it.
Defending marriage and family therefore becomes one of defending and protecting children. So don't be intimidated, silenced or afraid to join in the defense of marriage and family in 2016, as it is a just and noble cause.
It has historically been a role of government to restrain such damaging behavior, but if our governments fail in their duty to protect children, family and our nation's moral foundations, then it is incumbent on the citizens of Australia to speak up.
One could also say that it is incumbent upon the people to rid themselves of such leaders. Therefore, Churches and Christians please also join the political process
So, speak to children about this, and also engage all the politicians you can engage with, and do whatever else you can do in the coming year or so until the plebiscite puts an end to this distressing part of Australia's young and so far free history.
By Craig Manners
1/2/2016
Jesus Himself referred back to the beginning when talking about marriage; about God’s beautiful plan for men and women, for marriage, and for families.
Sometimes, governments make bad laws and get things very wrong. But that is no reason to abandon the truth about marriage and family, it just means we need to understand it more and live it out in the midst of a hostile society as best we can.
Remaining faithful to God is always the best thing for us to do and as happened with Daniel, this has earthly rewards as well as heavenly ones.
Many of the people warring with God and fighting to undermine the foundations of civilization and of the Bible, are doing so because they have embraced a quasi-religious movement which provides them with a brief filling of the void in their hearts. This is only ever brief and ultimately unsatisfying, as the only thing that can fill the hole in our hearts is Jesus Christ. Therefore, people often blow with the wind from one new movement to the next.
Many of these people may have had bad experiences at unfaithful churches, or with Christians, who after all are not perfect (which is why they needed Jesus in the first place).
Many of them do not know how much God loves them. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
So, I do not look upon them as enemies, but in hope as future forgiven brothers and sisters.
But, in the meantime, I see it as important to speak out against what they are doing, because it would not be loving to remain silent, and because what they are proposing will damage our society and harm children.
In the year ahead we will be bombarded with more of the same persistent arguments to change our marriage laws. Burying one's head in the sand and hoping this will go away is no longer an option for parents. If you are not talking to your children about this they will be doing so in their school playground or getting their answers from the media. It is better it comes from you than from the culture.
Marriage was founded by God as being for one man and one woman, Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve as the old joke goes. It is not something men have authority to change. It is simply and genuinely " born this way".
The move to undermine marriage is another step in the attempt to normalize damaging nonsense. God makes it clear what sex is and isn't.
Historically, God's reaction to widespread bad behavior when it was rampant in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah should be enough to convince Christians that going down this path will have devastating consequences for our nation.
Christians are to show love to all people, including those trapped in any sin including sexual immorality. We are, like God does with His people when He saves them, to show love to sinners.
We show zero love to someone by encouraging them, or affirming them, in their damaging behavior. Love requires us to speak up and act to defend marriage and family this year but to try to make it clear that it is the behavior we are against, not the people.
Normalizing unnatural and unhealthy behavior in our society, with the mental, emotional, financial and potentially physical damage this normalization process is doing to our nation's children, is a very clear form of child abuse.
Children need protection from dangerous behavior not encouragement toward it.
Defending marriage and family therefore becomes one of defending and protecting children. So don't be intimidated, silenced or afraid to join in the defense of marriage and family in 2016, as it is a just and noble cause.
It has historically been a role of government to restrain such damaging behavior, but if our governments fail in their duty to protect children, family and our nation's moral foundations, then it is incumbent on the citizens of Australia to speak up.
One could also say that it is incumbent upon the people to rid themselves of such leaders. Therefore, Churches and Christians please also join the political process
So, speak to children about this, and also engage all the politicians you can engage with, and do whatever else you can do in the coming year or so until the plebiscite puts an end to this distressing part of Australia's young and so far free history.