Most of us would have heard the loud declarations of the homosexual movement during the last month. The designation of June as Gay Pride Month was written into law in the US by then President Bill Clinton in 1999 as a commemoration of the Stonewall Riots (1969) in New York City by gay activists, and as most things that make their way from south of the border, so it is in June in Canada. It serves well to remember that it was only three years before that, in 1996, that Bill Clinton also signed into law the “Defense of Marriage Act” in the US, declaring marriage as being defined as “the union between one man and one woman”. It was a declaration against homosexual marriages. How could one man write two deeply contrary laws within three years? Where is our moral compass? Not surprisingly, the “Defense of Marriage Act” was struck down by the US Supreme Court on June 26, 2013, paving the way for same-sex marriages across the US. Exactly 2 years later, on June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court again ruled that any ban on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional. Today’s date, June 26, 2025, represents 10 years since this ruling was made.
As June closes, “Gay Pride Month” comes to an end, but the stark reminders of what it represents are a clarion call to believers in Christ to know the Scriptures well, to understand God’s design for humanity, to grasp the nature of sin in homosexuality, and to speak lovingly and yet clearly about the issues of sexual purity. As I reflect on the relentless march of the world’s challenge to redefine human gender identity, I am reminded of the Bible’s warning of the rise of the power of what is called the anti-Christ in Daniel 7:25, “He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.” June 26 represents the ability of political powers and the courts to shape culture and law according to the ways of the world. As those who walk in Christ, our moral compass is found in the Word, and our mission as salt and light in our present age is clearly a pressing concern. When Jesus called His disciples to a greater vision, He instructed them to “lift up their eyes and look into the fields” (John 4:36). It is an instruction to stop gazing at ourselves, and cast our eyes on the greater need that God sees. I came recently across a friend whose pressing concerns are no greater than those of her own comfort and her own issues, and her issues with people who don’t agree with her. After listening to an hour of endless complaints, I asked, “And what does God say to all your concerns? Surely the world is not just about you, is it?” A pause followed, and the answer came, “I know it sounds like the world is all about me. But the fact is that ‘me’ is all I know.” That is sad, but true to too many of us. Let’s lift up our eyes and look beyond ourselves. As Gay Pride month winds up, other worldly enemies will come knocking at the door. It’s time to be salt and light.
Just Church
At Just Church, our enduring purpose is to fulfil Christ purpose for church until He comes: “The vision of Just Church is to establish a church in just the way Christ called the church to be – true to His Word, loving Him, loving one another, and loving the lost.”
