PREDISPOSED TO WHAT?
For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another. Romans 1:26-27
Simplistic evangelical thinking believes that a homosexual identity is birthed environmentally. Flawed parenting, early childhood experiences, these are some of the things we believe solely shape sexual orientation. However, what about members of the gay community who protest that they were indeed born this way? We are prone to dismiss that because how can we defend God’s Word if a true genetic component exists? Does this erase guilt and provide a loophole for God’s commandments?
I do admit that those who have proclaimed a genetic pre-disposition toward homosexuality have, in the past, left me stumbling for words. However, John Piper suggests, in a sermon from this very passage in Romans, that if homosexuality is a bent, determined by genetics as well as environment, that we should not be surprised. At the fall of Adam and Eve, the whole world was disordered. Genetic pulls went askew for every person, across the board.
The truth is ~ each one of us have genetic pre-dispositions toward sinful behaviors and unhealthy bents. The one who struggles with a generational pull toward alcoholism must deal with his ‘bent’ at the foot of the cross. So must the one who struggles with perverted sexual orientations. No matter the sinful pull, the remedy is the same. We come to Christ, plead for mercy, take hold of undeserved grace, and stand in the victory of Calvary when we battle our respective thorns in the flesh. Christ promises victory, one battle at a time.
Once we know our Achilles’ heel, we must protect ourselves from situations that would invite temptation, lest we fall. For the person who struggles with homosexual desire, he or she must do what every one of us must do when we’re in the battle of our lives. We immerse ourselves in scripture. We flee temptation. We invite accountability. We rely on the prayers and support of our Christian family. We hold on to the hope that, in heaven, our battle will be over. The effects of the Fall will be a thing of the past for all of us, regardless of how our genetic wiring went awry. The sons of God will be revealed and the groanings will be silent.
You are more of a treasure than the sin which calls out to me. I guard my relationship with You by abstaining from what would lure me astray and focusing on Your beauty. Amen
Daughters of promise 
As the mother of a daughter who has chosen a lesbian lifestyle, I deeply appreciated this devotional. I know that she will be freed from this when Jesus comes to take us home, and pray every day that she is freed before that time; not just for herself, but for the woman who will probably never be saved because she lives with my daughter. Thank you, Christine, for this wonderful devotional.
Thanks, Christine. This is well said. You have put down concretely a thought that has been vague in my mind. You are right; we each have our own Achille’s heel and we are not any less responsible than someone with a different weakness to deal with it, to guard ourselves from it. I love your closing prayer: “You are more of a treasure than the sin which calls out to me.” Amen.