Just last week millions of people in over 200 countries watched as Nik Wallenda walked across a portion of the Grand Canyon on a 2 inch cable some 1500 feet above the canyon floor. It was pretty impressive to see the video clips of his stunt. I assume it took great skill and great concentration on the task at hand to stay balanced on that cable while the wind was whipping it back and forth and up and down.

Here we are just days later and the US Supreme Court has made a decision that same sex unions should have the same rights as historical marriage. This decision has allowed me to see the tightrope walk that a follower of Jesus Christ must walk every day of their lives. Our country seems to be increasingly moving away from the Biblical principals held by the founding fathers. When I listened to the talk show people while driving today I heard them say that it is a changing culture and that the Supreme Court is simply following the changes in the attitudes and thinking of the citizens about this issue. That is probably a very true statement. But, what are we to do as Christians… as the church?

As Christ followers we cannot allow ourselves to be drawn into believing that we must accept unbiblical principals in order to survive. If we understand this, and do our best to live it every moment of our lives, we soon begin to cry at the hurt that the world is causing God our Father. I was so struck with the thought of how evil we had become that tears came to my eyes. I even asked God why he did not just destroy us all. Why does he put up with the evil that man has done while we Christ followers simply watched from the sidelines.

So, how do we reach the lost for Christ when they are the very people who are doing these sinful things. How do we befriend people while they are living in opposition to God without making them think that we are condoning their sin. Ahh! That is the tightrope we Christians have to navigate daily. We need to look at Christ for our answers. We know that Jesus came from his place in Heaven to the earth “…to seek and to save the lost” – Luke 19:10. He did it primarily with two tools. Love and Truth.

Do we have the same two tools available to us? Yes I believe we do. First, we have the Word of God and we have the truth! Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life”. -John 14:6 Second, we have God’s love. Let me try to show you how much God loves you. If we really begin to understand sin, theirs and ours, and if we really understand that God is pure, holy, and cannot accept even the most insignificant appearing sin. When we completely understand those two things and we realize that we are still here and not in Hell; well, we get a small glimpse the extent of God’s love for us. He gives us through the Holy Spirit that ability to love even the unlovely if we will just let him.

So, what about the tightrope? What do you do when you encounter a gay couple, an adulterer or even worse a pride filled person like me. Well before you confront, you need to be armed with the Truth through study and prayer, and you need to be filled with the Love of God so that it just flows out of you naturally. Then the Good News that you have is more likely to be heard.

Just in case you are a little like me there is one more thing we need to take care of before we get on that tightrope. We need to remember what Jesus said in Matthew 7:3 about the “plank in our eye” before we point out the “speck” in our brother’s eye.

So Good luck and I hope to meet you on the other side of the canyon.