What are your opinions on transgender people?
Transgender people, like all people, are people for whom Jesus Christ died. They are loved by the God who created all of us, the God whom I serve, and He desires them to repent and be saved, just as He desires this for all people, including me and you.
The Word of God is clear about the gender of people when they are created:
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
And Jesus confirms this during His earthly ministry:
He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6)
I don’t believe it is right, in God’s eyes, to change that aspect of oneself. It is a fundamental part of who one is, when God made us at our conception.
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139:13-16)
He has known us and planned for us since before time itself! He knew, too, that the corruption of a sinful world would make things foggy. He knew that satan would do whatever he could to confuse us, to twist our thoughts and deceive us into thinking we are not who God made us to be. This is a challenging thing, when it feels so much like these are our true feelings. It’s extremely easy to think that we should trust our feelings, because they’re ours! “Follow your heart,” the world says! But God tells us time and again that our hearts are deceitful, and won’t lead us anywhere good, in the end. I know how easy it is to want to follow what your body wants, truly. St. Paul talks about this in his first Letter to the Corinthians:
““All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” (1 Corinthians 6:12-13)
Paul is quoting people who say “It’s my body! I can do whatever I want!” He’s saying that, yes, it’s true, you CAN do whatever you want. But not all things we want to do are helpful to us. God made us in His image, He made us with intention and purpose and plans, He made us to follow Him. He sent His Son to die for us, to show us how much He loves us and how much He wants us to be kept safe from our desires to be separate from Him. He died for our sins so that we don’t have to. That’s how much He loves us.
Listen, I do not hate anyone. I do not judge nor condemn anyone. How could I claim to follow Jesus if I were to hate my neighbors? St. John talks about this in his first Letter.
“We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1 John 4:19-21)
I love you. This is why I’m sharing what the Lord, who loves you perfectly and far more than anyone else, has to say about the dangers of sin and the safety of His grace and salvation.
When Jesus tells us that we need to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Him (Matthew 16:24-26) He is not just speaking to one group of people, and He’s certainly not saying it to be mean. We are ALL called to deny ourselves. We all struggle with temptations of different sorts. Everyone! Because we are all born sinful. Some people struggle with temptation to become drunk, others are tempted by sex, others by gambling, gossiping, stealing, lying— you get the idea. Not everyone turns their temptations into great, cover story crimes, but we all struggle nonetheless. Some people struggle with gender dysphoria, and are then tempted to change from the gender God gave them to what they think is best. Giving into any temptation is a simple matter of trusting yourself rather than trusting in your Creator, who loves you so much that He did not spare His own Son to die for you.
Jesus came to provide a way through the sinfulness. He is the Light in the darkness (John 8:12), and when we repent of our sins and put our trust in Him, there is a true joy that is unlike anything we could ever possibly feel from anything in the world or in our flesh. I love Psalm 4:7 for this reason: “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.” It resonates with me because I used to take great pleasure in getting drunk with my friends. It was never that often, but I got excited when the opportunity presented itself. I liked losing my senses and laughing about dumb things and letting go of reality for a bit. But, this verse is true! I thank my good Lord!! I find so much more joy in HIM, in singing songs of praise, in reading His Word, in prayer; even in just seeing the beauty of His creation when I go for a walk… Joy from Him isn’t the same as happiness from this earth, friend. I thought it was enough, but it doesn’t even compare!
I don’t have all the answers here, but I know that I’ve never once regretted choosing Him over my own desires or feelings. I still mess up, please understand. I still repent daily and I still receive such abundant grace and mercy from our perfect, risen King. But it’s just so much better, with Him. It really, really is. Don’t worry about how you go to Him. Just let go of that grip we all have on the world, and seek Him. Let Him tell you who you are. He knows you! He has known you from before time itself. He is not angry with you. He only hates what satan has done to His precious children. The Lord God loves you so much, and He just wants to keep you safe from dangerous things; and that includes trusting yourself instead of Him.
I love following Jesus because I’ve never been too certain about anything. The world is constantly changing and people change and even my own moods and desires and interests change! It’s a changeable world we live in! What I love so much about God is that He never changes. His Word is absolute, it’s perfect, it’s the firm foundation that you can always stand on. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). I love being able to trust Him completely, because I know He’s always there and I KNOW He has my best interests in mind. Even if it doesn’t feel that way all the time. He has shown me over and over, in the Bible and in my own personal life, that He knows best. “This God— His way is perfect. The word of the Lord proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him” (2 Samuel 22:31).
In a world that constantly moves and shifts, God is everlasting, His Word is unwavering, and His love endures forever. God’s peace be with you, friend.
