Many United Methodists nationwide have reacted with dismay to the recent action of the General Conference, which, instead of “finding the way forward” concerning our church’s stance on human sexuality, took a bad stumble backwards. Some are talking schism, and many are concerned about what lies ahead.
It is good to remember that God is yet at work! The church has suffered great imperfections and troubles in ages past, and the Lord has always brought God’s people forward. We may yet have a ways to go “in the wilderness,” but God’s future lies ahead.
We are called to have faith and remain steadfast. We are also called to keep our eyes open to the working of God’s Spirit.
We are called to keep our eyes open to the working of God’s Spirit. Click To TweetIn the first century, during a dispute in the church over the qualifications for church membership, God led church leaders to finally see that God was working in ways far greater than what some had imagined. The Holy Spirit was powerfully filling the Gentiles—people who had long been considered unacceptable among God’s chosen people—and if God was accepting the Gentiles as they were, it was obvious that the church needed to accept them too!
Today the Holy Spirit is powerfully at work among LGBTQ people, and the Spirit is moving churches to be communities of welcome and acceptance. It is a continuation of a central message of the Bible—that we are each a good creation of God, and while we all stumble in our own ways in sin, we are each met by the grace of Jesus Christ, who draws us into fellowship with God, and calls us to show that grace to all.
Sunday’s Scripture Readings:
Acts 10:44–48
Acts 15:1–11
