Morning rant: Heard a radio program on the way home from work yesterday that really upset me. The host and his guest (a professor from Moody Bible Institute) were talking with a caller about her homosexual son.

She said, "My husband and I met in church. Our son was raised in church. He walked with the Lord up until college, and then he walked away from him. He told us he was homosexual. He's 22 yrs old. And, it breaks my heart."

The guest, from MBI, offered this advise,"I think you have a wrong definition of grace and love. Yes, you should love your son, but you need him to know that you love God more. Yes, I'm saying, but not in so many words, that you should tell him to straighten up because you won't have sin in your house. Listen, if God had a house, would he let people live in it who were sinners?"

This lady actually believed that the advice she was getting was biblical. Her heart was breaking, and this RELIGIOUS so-and-so was telling her that the answer was to push her son away farther. WHAT!?!?

This professor was being religious and trying to be upright and holy, and missed LOVE altogether. He needs a different definition of grace and love, IMO.

My answer: We're in a battle. When darkness sweeps in and grabs one of your kids, you don't push them further into it. You don't shove them out of the one place where truth and love is supposed to be -- your own home! And, if God had a great big house is the wrong starting point....God DOES have a great big house! No 'if' about it. And He has filled it with sinners. God loves sinners...not just redeemed sinners, but BEFORE they are redeemed He loved them enough to die for them.

This guest professor talked about the prodigal son. You kick your kid out into the world, and when he finds it is unsatisfying, he'll come home to you. I have heard this UNLOVING CRAP before, and it is so not of God. First, the prodigal ...son's Father NEVER kicked him out. The son willingly left...and not for the purpose of sinning. The son just had too much money for a young fool, and fell into sin AFTER he left. Second, the Father allowed the son to leave, but immediately began waiting for his son to return home. NOT for his son to repent of sin, but just to come back into his house.

Nowhere in the NT does God instruct us to separate from our children if they are in sin. God doesn't set that example for us, nor does he ask us to do that. Parents are NEVER told to kick out their own children in the NT

And another thing, experience tells us that IF you kick out a 'prodigal', they usually DON'T come back. This homosexual young man, obviously living under the religious guise that was required at his home, finally got tired of pretending. If they kick him out, they will drive him into the arms of comfort and understanding that are waiting for him.

Here's my thought: Since mom thought enough to mention that her and dad met in church, she obviously is religious. This has some special stamp on her relationship with dad. (If they'd met while bowling would she have mentioned it? No.) ...This boy was raised under religion = Christianity. His 'walk with God' was probably just getting along with his parents, and avoiding their displeasure. INSIDE, he believed a lie and he had no one to talk to about it. When he got out of the house, he let the charade drop. Mom and dad were blinded by religion, and missed all the warning signs, and heartache, and so now this appears to be a sudden change. It's not.

Mom and dad will do the wrong thing. Their son will not find any answers or any JESUS at home. Fortunately, Jesus loves this boy, and will try to reach him some other way. However, he has been inoculated to the true JESUS...he equates Jesus with lies and hypocrisy and judgment and lack of understanding.

Way to go Moody professor. Way to go radio host. Way to go Mom. I pray that the love of God finds your son some day. And pray that you wake up the lies of religion, and discover the gracious God of the New Testament before you do the same thing to his younger brothers and sisters.

Rant over. :)