Why 20/20 gender vision doesn’t cure spiritual blindness
Who would have dreamed 15 years ago that so many Americans would suddenly begin rejecting the basic biological makeup of boys and girls? How can you explain such absurdity? And yet we are witnessing it before our very eyes.
It reminds me of Romans 1:25: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie.”
Sadly, most people who downplay or even deny gender absolutes also happen to be spiritually blind, whereas most people with spiritual sight readily accept the biological reality that a person’s gender at birth never changes.
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And then you have those people who are blessed with 20/20 gender vision, but who nevertheless suffer from spiritual blindness.
It is all very curious, don’t you think?
It is natural to comprehend the biological differences between male and female, but it is supernatural to accept Jesus by faith and receive Him as your Lord and Savior (see John 1:12 & John 3:6).
Scripture informs us: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Christians tend to marvel at how easy it is to see Jesus while being continually bewildered at why so many others fail to see the Lord. We often wonder, “Why don’t they get it?”
Compare our perplexity to the dismay of non-Christians who are blessed with 20/20 gender vision. They don’t understand gender deniers any more than we understand gender deniers. Many non-Christians realize that it is impossible to change your gender, no matter how badly you may wish to do so. You can rebrand yourself with a new label, but you cannot alter your chromosomes.
If you are a non-Christian with 20/20 gender vision, you should be able to relate at least a little bit to how Christians view your spiritual condition. We find it difficult to understand why you don’t “get Jesus,” even though, as the recent national ad campaign put it: “He gets us.”
We are perplexed as to why someone with your intelligence and your ability to solve problems nevertheless fails to see the true nature of your sin problem, as well as the only solution that is available. You fail to see the Savior who loved you enough to die on the cross for your sins. We are baffled by your persistent refusal to humble yourself before the One you will stand before on Judgment Day. We are left scratching our head every time you turn down God’s gracious offer of everlasting life in Heaven, and every time you refuse to repent and turn to God for forgiveness and salvation.
It is surprisingly similar to the way you are mystified by those gender deniers who lack 20/20 gender vision. You find yourself in utter disbelief that so many people in recent years have chosen to reject something as basic and fundamental as gender distinctions. They don’t seem to realize that biology is not bigotry.
Those of us who know the Lord want everyone with 20/20 gender vision to see Jesus just as clearly as they see the science of gender. Unfortunately, many people with 20/20 gender vision remain spiritually blind and oblivious to what God did to rescue their soul from sin, death, and the devil.
Who knows? You might even be one of them.
Do you see the difference between male and female, and yet fail to see the Redeemer who is 100% God and 100% Man? Do you recognize that a person’s birth gender is immutable, yet remain oblivious to the fact that God sent His only Son to be sacrificed on the cross for your sins?
Do you wish that people who reject gender absolutes would come to their senses, while you yourself continue to ignore the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead? If you have not yet embraced this historical absolute, you suffer from spiritual blindness.
It is mind-boggling to think that so many people with 20/20 gender vision continue to walk in spiritual darkness. There is no natural explanation for this sad fact, but only a spiritual one. As Scripture explains, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Satan blinds people from seeing Jesus. And while the devil is a created being whose power is no match for God’s power, this dark angel nevertheless does have the supernatural ability to blind your mind and keep you confined in spiritual chains.
Gender deniers have a big problem, but Jesus deniers are in much hotter water that is only going to get far worse unless they “repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15). When your soul gets converted through faith in Christ, you suddenly see Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and you trust Him to wash away all of your sins.
And so, at the very least, will you ask God to open your eyes to see the truth about your sin and the Savior?
Jesus said, “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Believe and receive, and you will see Jesus for the very first time.
Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.
