Today I’m tackling kind of a hard topic. It’s a pretty hot topic right now, and I don’t want to step on any toes or give offense to anyone. I don’t want to sound judgmental or unloving. But, it’s an important topic, and I recently read a great book on the subject, and, well, I want to share. I hope I can do it justice.

Gender. Sex. Identity.

These words are swirling around the media right now in a frenzy. More and more people are coming out as transgender. And that is something I have a hard time with. I wrote up my thoughts about the SCOTUS decision back in June, but this…. This is bigger. Will you bear with me, while I tell you by personal beliefs on the subject? I hope so.

I believe that we are created in God’s image. I also believe that because we are mortal and living in a fallen world, our human bodies are not perfect. We get sick. We are subject to disease. Babies are born with different types of disabilities. Not because God caused it to be so, but simply because of mortality. I believe this applies to homosexuals, too. I do NOT believe that they are sick or need a cure or anything like that, I just believe that for some reason, they came out of the womb loving the same gender. It’s real. And that’s ok. If you clicked the link above you know that I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman. But I do not deny gays and lesbians the right to get married to their partner. Love is a powerful emotion. Homosexuality is not something one can just “turn off” or “pray away”. Here, on earth, it’s a genuine part of who they are. Will it carry over to the other side? I’m inclined to say no, but also, I don’t know. I just don’t. I don’t believe any one does.

But now, let’s touch on transgenders. This is much more than loving another person. This is about rejecting who you are. To me, transgenderism is not the same as Klinefelter or Turner syndrome. Like I stated above, those are chromosomal disorders, that simply occurred because of the mortal state of our bodies. To me, transgenderism is generally a mental illness. Yes, it also occurs because of our mortal world, but we should strive to be helping these people through therapy, not by allowing them to decide to change their outward appearance. A sex change does not and can not change your chromosomal make up. It does not change who you are. Mental illness is hard. Any type is. But it can be overcome and managed.

I don’t want to get into a debate though, or even discuss this further. I studied Human Development in college but I’m not scientifically minded enough to have that conversation. We may all have different opinions, and that’s ok. I’m not here to shove my beliefs on anyone. I just wanted to share my beliefs, so that now I can share with you some quotes from a book I recently read entitled Designed For Joy: How the Gospel Impacts Men and Women, Identity and Practice.

First, I loved the title. Designed For Joy. How true is that? We are designed to have joy. This book is a collection of chapters from different leaders around the Christian community (such as Jonathan Parnell, Joe Rigney, Gloria Furman), and each one tackles different subjects of gender and the church. This book is littered with wonderful quotes and insight about how wonderful it is to be a man or a woman, and how we can effectively and consciously embrace who we are and our masculine or feminine traits. Manhood should be celebrated. Womanhood should be celebrated. We are created for joy and to glory in God. In the introduction Owen Strachan tells us that “our manhood and womanhood is a God-designed pathway to delight” and oh, how I believe that is true. Also in the introduction, Owen discusses how today we are told things like “you can be anything you want to be!” and “there are no limits to what you can do and what you can be!”. But this is false. He says, “the God of Scripture is not our life coach. He is our Lord. He sets the tone for right and wrong…. When it comes to our sexuality, we have God-appointed limits. These limits are not bad; they are good, and good for us. We do not have the ability to remake our gender.” And I believe that is true.

Again, there are gems all throughout this short, 140 page book, and I urge you to pick it up. It brought me great insight and helped strengthen what I believe about gender in relation to the gospel of Christ. I’d like to share one more quote that I enjoyed, about womanhood, and woman’s role in the world and home. Trilia Newbell discusses Eve, and how she was created as a helper or helpmeet for Adam. About that term she says, “This term ‘helper’ has gotten a bad rap. But it was God’s solution to an otherwise unsolvable problem… ‘Helper’ in the original Hebrew means the one who supplies strength in the area that is lacking. This isn’t a wimpy role! This isn’t a wimpy word. We magnify God as we embrace the calling to come alongside our husband and gladly supply strength where they need it.” I loved this. I think the world today likes to view womanhood and femininity as something to be ashamed by. The fact that a woman should be a helper to her husband makes her seem less than him. But it is not true! We are strong, we are capable, and we are needed. But we are needed in the roles that God intended us for.

I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into my beliefs, and into this book. If you are struggling with where you stand on this issue, particularly as it relates to your faith, I really encourage you to pick this book up. It states with clarity and boldness the wonderfulness of gender. And yes, it is wonderful.