I told myself for weeks, I wanted to tune in to “The Interview” with Diane Sawyer and Bruce Jenner. If you have turned your television on for more than a few minutes, have stood in line at the grocery store or have scrolled through your social media timeline, you know there has been a lot of speculation and conversation surrounding Bruce Jenner.
I contemplated writing a disclaimer at the beginning of this post, but I kind of think disclaimers are a lot like the, “I don’t mean to be rude…” Introduction we get before someone is rude to us. So, instead of disclaimer, let me say this.
THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MY OPINION/FEELINGS/BELIEFS ABOUT THE SUBJECT OF TRANSGENDER.
I totally forgot to record “The Interview”, and was out at an event when it aired. Once I got home and realized I had missed it, I began surfing the internet in hopes to find a link for the full interview. I even tried to watch it with the west coast viewers. No luck. But what I did find was countless clips from the interview.
My heart broke as I watched a REAL human being express a REAL battle he has been facing, most of his life… with the entire world.
One of those clips gripped my heart! It was my blog moment and reason for writing this post.
In one of the clips, Jenner says this.
“I would say I’ve always been very confused with my gender identity since I was this big,” said Jenner, 65, tearing up. “I tried to explain it, because I’ve had all my kids sitting in that chair … and I’ve tried to explain it this way. God’s looking down, making little Bruce … he says ‘Okay, what are gonna do with this one. Make him a smart kid, very determined … and then when he’s just finishing he says, ‘Let’s wait a second.’
…God looks down and chuckles a little bit and says, ‘Hey, let’s give him the soul of a female.’ ”
It was as if my cellphone volume turned all the way up!!! Those words pierced my heart, deeply.
I WANT TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT ABOUT IDENTITY.
I’m not talking about Bruce Jenner’s identity, I’m talking about the identity and nature of God.
In James chapter 1, beginning in verse 16, it says.
“So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.”
The God I serve, the God that Bruce Jenner spoke of last night, is a GOOD God. He is not a God who sits up in the heavens looking for ways to complicate or to bring turmoil to us. Is there bad in the world? Yes! Are there things that happen that I don’t understand? Yes! But these don’t equate to our God being anything less than a good and just God.
I do not pretend, not even for one second, to understand what Bruce Jenner and the countless others who are experiencing turmoil and pain because of this. In fact, Bruce Jenner is not the first person “I know” to walk this reality. So I tred lightly, with caution and great sensitivity.
However, I DO know what it is like to walk in relationship with The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. I do know that God is not chuckling as He places confusion, turmoil and crisis in the hearts and lives of us here on earth.
God is our Heavenly Father, who in the midst of our confusion, heartbreak and crisis walks intimately with us.
Often times when we experience things, we tend to view or understand God through those circumstances. If “this” has happened, it must mean “that” about God. However, we are supposed to view our circumstances through the lenses of God.
We don’t understand God by what we experience. Instead, we understand our situations by the way we experience God.
I also know that there is a spiritual battle and that there is a real enemy who wages war for our soul. If He can convince us that our God is anything but faithful, just, kind, merciful and gracious, then a true act of identity theft is taken place. If we don’t know the character of Jesus we don’t know His nature, when we don’t know his nature we are not able to fully place our trust and hope in Him.
Out of everything that was said and expressed in last night’s interview, this statement has left me different.
Again, I do not have all the answers to the subject of transgender, but I know THE ONE who holds all the answers. His name is Jesus! He wants to know you intimately, and wants you to know Him.
Thousands of people are sharing their love & acceptance for the Bruce. They don’t know him personally nor do they know the full story– But, they stand with Him. Can I tell you, that Jesus knows Bruce, He knows his every thought, his hearts desire. He knows his greatest fears and biggest dreams. Jesus loves and accepts Bruce Jenner.
His love and acceptance for Bruce goes way beyond a tweet or a FaceBook post. It transcends time, social equality and political correctness. Over 2,000 years ago, JESUS took his love and acceptance public and was naked, humiliated and crucified for Bruce. He displayed bravery and courage when He took the sins and the weight of the world upon himself, so that we can have a relationship with Him. So we would know Him and He would know us.
He was at the beginning and He stands at the end, and yet He remains faithful to us! He is one who sticks closer than a brother.
God is not looking for ways to complicate our life! He sent His son Jesus to reconcile us, to redeem us.
My prayer is that we would be people who accurately proclaim the nature of God! That we would be people who accurately demonstrate the character of God. That we would be people who accurately display the love of God in all that we do.
I am not perfect, but my God is. I am not all knowing, but my God is.
I pray that you would know our Heavenly Father. That you would not just hear about Him, but really know Him.
I pray that if you have believed the rumors or “tabloids” about His character, that you would get all the facts and search the scriptures. His word is a beautiful demonstration of that love and acceptance.