God is Love

[Guest Maddie8484]

Hey everyone!

In case you didn't know, I very recently came back to God after giving up Christianity for several years. Growing up in the south, Christianity has always had a sense of being more about old hymns, meaningless rituals, and strict rules. It always seemed to bother me that it was like that. In my high school days, I tried to change that. I formed a praise band and helped start some school clubs. I started becoming aware that there was a lot more to God than singing Amazing Grace on Sunday mornings. By the time I got in college, my relationship with God was amazing but there was a problem...I was transgender. For years I prayed for God to take away my feelings but he never did. After a long wrestling match, which I inevitably lost, God showed me that he made me trans for a reason and everything was part of his plan. After conveying everything I had learned to my parents and my pastor, I was told that I was wrong. That if I was trans then that meant that God made a mistake and God doesn't make mistakes. I took it really hard and eventually abandoned religion all together.

Well after some encouragement from some good friends, I am starting to rekindle my relationship with God. Being trans and Christian is probably one of the hardest things for me to completely wrap my head around. I kinda wanted to share something that has really helped me understand that God has it all under control.

I strongly believe that the main thing that Jesus tried to teach people was that he loves everyone of us. Now God's love is something I will probably never understand but I know it is on a whole different level than our love. 1John 4:8 says "Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." That's a pretty deep statement...God is love. What does that even mean? Well 1 Corinthians tells us what love is.

"Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy and does not boast. Love is not proud. Love is not rude, not self-seeking. Love is not easily angered. Love keeps not record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. Love always protects, always trusts. Love always hopes. Love always perseveres. Love never fails."

Now since God is love, let's replace the word love with God.

"God is patient, God is kind. God does not envy and does not boast. God is not proud. God is not rude, not self-seeking. God is not easily angered. God keeps not record of wrongs. God does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. God always protects, always trusts. God always hopes. God always perseveres. God never fails."

The part that has really helped me was "God always hopes." God knows us on a much deeper level than we can fully understand. He knew who I was way before I was. God sees beyond our gender. He knows the real us. It doesn't really matter if we label ourselves male or female because God made every single one of us unique and perfect. And he has a purpose for every single one of us. I believe that God loves us so much, he is watching us, hoping that we learn that we can accept ourselves because he accepts us.

God can allow us to change lives all around the world if we let him. It's not easy but all of us who are transgender know that our lives aren't always easy. God never fails though. If we just keep our trust in him, he will never let us go.

-Maddie

[Guest Annutty]

Maddie,

Very nice post. I wrote this in another topic, but I will reiterate it here:

There's more than one force in the world. God, Satan, our personal choices, the choices of others, and the fallenness of the world all play a part in the suffering that's ever present in our world. Is God powerless to stop suffering? No, of course not; he is just waiting for a little while (which seems like eternity to us mortals) before he destroys sin once and for all (and heaven comes to earth and the 1000 year reign begins etc etc (its all in Revelation)). But if he were to destroy all sin, evil, and suffering right now, most of humanity would be destroyed. So he is waiting out of his mercy.

Now, I believe being trans is a birth defect, where our minds and bodies are not synced up to the same gender. Does that make us inhuman? Of course not. We just simply need treatment, just like any other congenital condition. So why would God hate us for being born in the wrong body? It's like saying God hates people born with cleft pallets, or misformed limbs. It doesn't make sense. Did God want us to be born trans? I don't know. I want to lean towards saying no, because of the horrible experiences many trans people go through. He doesn't want us to go through those things. But like I said, he is holding back his judgement on sin (I'm NOT calling being trans a sin here-I'm saying he is going to purify the world and cleanse it of the fallenness and everything will be made new) for just a little while longer. Then he will make everything right, and we will be comforted according to the suffering we have received. So, I'm looking forward to that day.

Sorry if that's a little long winded. I totally agree with you, I just wanted to add this; hopefully it helped you.

Annette

[Guest ashleynikole]

Maddie, I couldn't have said it any better. If you haven't read my story, you may find that I bear witness to your testimony and the testimony of Jesus Christ. I am so glad I'm not alone in this. Not only not alone in being trans and christian but also not alone in my understanding of being made this way. I love my Jesus. It is such an awesome feeling to know peace beyond all understanding.

May God continue to bless you with the revelation and knowledge of him in all you say and all you do.

God bless

Ashley

[Drea]

Thank you Maddie.

[Guest Cyd]

I will add my Amen to your post, Maddie. God is Love, a kind of love beyond our human understanding. It's wonderful!

I am in a small Christian religious order, the Ecumenical Order of Saints Francis and Clare. The most concise description of Franciscan spirituality/theology I've ever read comes from Father Richard Rohr, a wonderful Franciscan priest who runs the Center for Action and Contemplation in New Mexico: "Everything belongs." That means everything is part of God's amazing Creation. Everything includes every single one of us--straight, gay, lesbian, asexual, male, female, agender, cisgender, transgender, able-bodied, disabled, black, brown, white, purple, polka dot, and on and on--ALL of us are equal and beloved in God's sight. Another quote from Father Rohr that always makes me smile: "We are all in on the deal," the "deal" being God's plan of Love, Inclusion, and Salvation.

It's so good to know how much we are loved, isn't it?

Peace,

Cyd

[Guest Sylvie]

Beautifully stated, Maddie. Love this thread!

[Guest Maddie8484]

@ashleynikole I did read your story and I have to say it is amazing! I am amazed too when I find out that there are so many people in this world that are like me. I don't mean to sound selfish but I actually feel good knowing that I may actually help other people struggling with the same things I am just by sharing my thoughts. God uses us in ways we sometimes don't even know.

And thanks to everyone for the kind words, it means a lot.

-Maddie

[Guest Maddie8484]

@Annutty I forgot to mention this. I definitely agree that being trans is a birth defect. I'm not really clear on the specifics but I know that science has proven that it is caused by a hormone imbalance or something like that. Sadly a lot of people don't agree with it and say it's a choice. Well, if it was a choice, I'm sure that pretty much all of us wouldn't be here right now lol.

[Guest]

What a great read, thank you. Excellent reminder. God is love.

[Guest Kimberly Ann]

Thank you I needed to hear that. As a Christian I have struggled with this for years.

[VickySGV]

I for one no longer see Gender Dysphoria as a "defect" of birth or of Creation as a whole. It is a variation that is shows how great and diverse Creation can be. No wrongness is involved, no work of the devil, no human "junk", no illness, just a wider view of what Creation can withstand and have in it. A song that I loved to sing in my church youth group was "How Great Thou Art". Some of the words were " Oh Lord my God when I in awesome wonder consider all the works thy hands have made (stars, rolling thunder) ... Thy power throughout the universe displayed...." 50 years after that song became my favorite, we have gone rock collecting on our Moon and remote control offroading on Mars; We have telescopes that can see the ongoing births and deaths of entire galaxies, the universe God made!! If all of that is possible and is a real part of creation, then you would expect that we could see that God could make human cells that differ from individual to individual, even differences between identical twins (I know a couple of sets where one is Trans* and the other is Cis). Not just the cells, but the smaller components such as a longer sequence of a set of proteins that keeps Testosterone from being effective in some cells. If God can make the vast expanses of interstellar space, God can handle the ultra-microscopic proteins just as easily and in as good health as some other arrangement.

It takes some serious faith and openness to see that as I believe God truly works and builds. It actually takes giving up beliefs taught to us and held fondly by others who are afraid to believe the Greatness of all creation, big and small, the fear of how small we are, but still beloved by the Creator who still gives us individual hugs in our heart, if we will love and not fear His CREATION.

The Peace of the Lord be always with you!!

[Guest Maddie8484]

@Vicky That makes a lot of sense and I haven't ever really thought of it that way. I know a lot of the birth defects that occur now are caused by chemicals in the air and in our food. I'm not sure if science has proven what caused our bodies to not get enough hormones during pregnancy but it wouldn't surprise me to know it was just God showing how awesome he is. Thanks for making me think lol

I'm glad this post has helped everyone. I'm gonna try to post more often when I can.

-Maddie

[Guest LizMarie]

Maddie, to your friends who says "God doesn't make mistakes", ask them to explain John 9:1-12. Those verses destroy their argument that "God doesn't make mistakes." God deliberately made that man to be born blind "so that the works of God might be displayed in him".

For my own part, a pastor once told me that being born trans is a test, not intended as a test of those of us born trans but a test of those around us. The pastor who told me this also said that it saddened him that so many were openly failing the test. You can remind them also that in heaven there is no gender - Gal 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus". You can use that to remind them that their own obsession over gender is misplaced.

However, be prepared for those who are going to argue otherwise. Especially those who live their lives as "Pharisees", obsessed with Old Testament laws and rules. You are going to have to accept that Christianity is not one massive bloc of people who agree on things. According to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity (CSGC) at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, there are approximately 41,000 Christian denominations and organizations in the world. So there are a lot of variations in belief. Even protestants have widely varying beliefs.

So my recommendation is that you find a church where you are happy and not engage in debating those people who seek to tear you down spiritually.

[Guest Maddie8484]

@LizMarie Wow! Great points! I wish I had known those years ago when I came out to my parents lol. I used to have a pretty deep relationship with God. Looking back, it was based on "I have something wrong with me that I need God to help me live with." Now, it is "God made me separate and set apart from the majority, and I want to praise him for it. And through me openly praising him, others might come to know his love." The first one is based off negative emotions while the second is much more positive. As they say, "positive emotions beat negative emotions every time."

[Charlize]

I hope to find some peace within myself and pray to find patience, kindness, tolerance and love. As i try to change my attitudes to reflect those attributes i find peace easier to attain. Many of Christ's teachings and those of other religious leaders have stressed that we can change ourselves but experience has shown me it is harder, often impossible to change others. That does not mean i can't find love for their humanity. I am one of god's creatures as they are. I should try to leave the judging to someone much wiser than I. Unfortunately it is easier to say than do but hopefully by repeating myself i will gain greater understanding as i have a chance. I like the Hindu idea that you have more than one life to work on the understanding of love. I may need quite a few.

Hugs,

Charlize

[Guest Cyndysub]

Human Love is Love.

Cyndy