About Yesterday

Yesterday I told just a small portion of my story. Allow me to share the inspiration and hopefully explain a bit more the point I was making.

First, the whole bit was inspired by the publication of the recent issue of Vanity Fair with Bruce “Caitlyn” Jenner on the cover. President Obama praised Jenner as being courageous for telling his story. And while I believe there is a type of courage in what he has done—I wondered if folks really believe that any story is courageous.

I wondered if courageous would be the word choice if a man appeared on the cover of a magazine in the outfit of a Klansman and he explained his story. Perhaps he realized that society did not accept his racism but he just couldn’t help but hate on minorities. This was the way he grew up. It was something in his genes. He’d prefer not to be a racist but he just couldn’t help it. And so rather than fight it he decided to fully embrace it.

Now of course such a story is ludicrous. We shouldn’t celebrate racism in any form. I say this, not because racism is now a faux pas in our culture but because racism is sin. We shouldn’t celebrate any sin.

But in our culture “sin” is not defined in relation to the Lord. Sin is now defined by what our culture deems acceptable or unacceptable. Sin is now defined in relation to people. Therefore things like bigotry and racism are sins because they impact other people. But something like a man becoming a woman isn’t a sin because it doesn’t hurt anyone (or so we are told).

And so I wanted to know if my story would be celebrated. Even if my story makes me a bigot in the eyes of some, because I dare say that humanity has to answer to a standard outside of ourselves.

My Story Isn’t Unique

Secondly, my story isn’t unique. My wounds aren’t any deeper or any worse than those of anyone else. Most people could just change a few details and my story would be very similar to their own. Not a one of us makes it through life unaffected by sin—both our own and the sin committed against us.

And to this end we all need Jesus. We need Jesus to atone for our own sin and also to heal the brokenness left by our being ravaged by sin. I could have told more of how sin has impacted my life. But I really didn’t because that wasn’t my point.

Or maybe it was my point, in a sense.

My story isn’t my brokenness. My story is my redemption in Jesus.

For that reason my heart breaks for Bruce Jenner…as much as it can break reflecting on the life of a distant celebrity. His sexuality has become his story. And that’s sad. But it’s to be expected—apart from Jesus I think we all are identified by our brokenness, because what else do we have?

I shared a bit of my story yesterday, though I don’t really believe it took much courage to do so, because I hope that maybe God will use it to help others see that all of us are broken and Jesus is a Great Redeemer. I don’t share my story because I’ve got something personally against Bruce Jenner or I wish him harm or anything like that. No I shared some of my story—in the way that I shared my story—because I believe our society is “sick unto death”. And I see people who share stories similar to my own, swallow poison thinking it will be their help.

I agree with Douglas Wilson:

The troubling symptom is the universal acclaim for Jenner, and the fact that in this general celebration the only people who will catch any of society’s disapproval will be those who understand, and say, that Jenner is one troubled puppy.

And so I guess I’m willing to do the courageous thing and stand up for biblical redemption even if the rest of the world disapproves. I want people to know there is a better way.

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Photo source: here