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(Originally published on July 1, 2015 after the Supreme Court ruled by a 5-to-4 vote that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage.)

Last Friday, June 26, 2015, was a sad day for me, but it also challenged me to see how Christians and churches would respond to the Supreme Court decision. I began to see what was trending on social media and I must admit I was even more saddened to see some of the hatred and venom being expressed by both sides.

What should the Christian reaction be? 

How should we respond to this after our emotions settle down? 

I must admit the cliché of a few years ago came to the forefront of my mind: “What would Jesus do?” Really, what would he do?

Here are several of the responses on social media that are worth sharing:

• “Gay marriage is now legal. The sky has not fallen, churches have not been padlocked, and we must live on mission! . . . Remember, after #SCOTUS and every day, you can’t hate a people and reach a people at the same time! . . . The focus must not be panic . . . or anger . . . or fear . . . or disdain. Our focus must be mission. Again.” – Ed Stetzer

• “Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy.” -Warren Weirsbe

• “The temptation is to go off and sulk in our holy corner. Or to dig in our heels and fight harder. Or to lash out in anger. Or to despair. We can do better. Like taking to heart especially the Beatitudes . . . Our homophobia has revealed our fear and prejudice. Biblical inconsistency—our passion to root out sexual sins while relatively indifferent to racism, gluttony, and other sins—opens us to the charge of hypocrisy. Before we spend too much more time trying to straighten out the American neighborhood, we might get our own house in order. Blessed are the poor in spirit who mourn their sins (Matt. 5:3-4).” – Mark Galli

• “As expected, the Supreme Court made its disastrous ruling. This just galvanizes our commitment to honor the Lord and do what’s right!” – Dr. Michael Brown

• “Of this, be sure: No declaration by a government can change a definition from God.” (Gen. 2:24) – David Platt 

• “Salvation isn’t something you can legislate. Now,friends, move on and move out . . . the clock is still ticking . . .” – Jeremy McLaughlin

• “OK, American church, now is the time to realize that you can in fact share the gospel (probably more effectively) in a place where you don’t hold the political power cards . . . Accept the fact and get to work!” -Klinton Silvey

• “What has really changed when it comes to the sovereignty and mission of our God? When we wake up in the morning our call is still to go and make disciples of all nations (and that includes North America)! – Chris Driver

We have a choice to make. We can either look outwardly in fear or we can look upward in faith! In a Sunday school class I attended in east Texas recently this is what I heard: 

“You cannot fear the Lord and fear man and the future at the same time!” 

What great wisdom! If we have the proper biblical fear of the Lord then we will not fear man nor will we fear the future.

A.W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

When we fear the Lord, Psalms 34:7-9 says, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and rescues them. Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the man who takes refuge in him! You who are God’s holy ones, fear Yahweh, for those who fear him lack nothing.” God is still on His throne and we are still called to obey Him.

While much in society has changed, God has not changed. The Great Commission has not changed nor has the Great Commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself!” So, where do we go from here? What do we do now? How should this affect us?

• First, remember God is still on his throne! 

He is a holy, all-powerful, all-knowing, never changing, just, and good God! I Sam 2:2, “There is no one holy like the Lord. There is no one besides You! And there is no rock like our God.” We don’t get to decide who God is!!! We don’t get to define who God is, He already defined Himself! We don’t get to determine what rules He wants us to live by, He already wrote them down!

• Second, we can trust God because he loves us!

Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the man who takes refuge in him!” God is the only being who is good by nature! He has proven his love for us by Jesus coming and dying on the cross for our sins. He has provided a path, there is only one, by which we can spend eternity in heaven with Him. Just read John 3 and that path is very clear.

• Third, while many things have changed in our culture, our mission remains the same! 

We are called by God to live on mission for him. We are to declare his fame and glory to every nation, every tongue, and every people group. We are to live as missionaries in our zip code by sharing the love of Christ with those in our circles of influence. That means reaching out and serving everyone no matter who they are!

No matter what decisions or laws are made, the King of Kings has called us to love him and then to love others the same way He has loved all of us. When we live by God’s Word and love others the same way he loves us then it will make a difference in people’s lives. 

Danny Akin says, “Christians can never condone what God condemns. We cannot encourage or endorse what God rejects and opposes. We simply cannot.” 

But we can and must live on mission, again!!!

Copyright © 2020 by Larry Barker @ http://larryjbarker.com/?p=575. All rights reserved.. Used with permission. No part of this article may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from Lifeword.org.