https://growingupinthelord.com Surfing The Waves Wed, 30 Sep 2026 20:54:57 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.3 https://growingupinthelord.com/love-wins/ https://growingupinthelord.com/love-wins/#respond Wed, 25 Jun 2025 04:56:04 +0000 https://growingupinthelord.com/?p=4583 God meets us where we are, and He loves us too much to let us stay there. Each June, Pride Month is celebrated across the United States and around the world. While the origins of such celebrations trace back to June 1969, President Barack Obama issued the first official presidential proclamation recognizing LGBT Pride Month in 2009. In cities all over the world, June has become a time of parades, rainbow flags, and corporate initiatives, with messages like “Love is love” and “Love wins.” As followers of Christ, we must ask: Are we using God’s definition of love, or have we begun calling evil good, and good evil? (Isaiah 5:20; Romans 1:32). What was once a sacred symbol of God’s promise is now held captive as a banner of pride. The rainbow had nothing to do with how people define themselves; it had everything to do with God’s covenant with Noah and every living creature (Genesis 9:13). It serves as a reminder of His promise never again to destroy all life with a flood, a sign of His patience and love. The world now flaunts sin beneath a rainbow banner. The rainbow that once pointed upward to God’s faithfulness is now used to point inward to humans’ self-expression. These are not two versions of the same love. They are entirely different messages, moving in opposite directions. Even in a world that distorts His symbols and redefines His truth, God continues to offer mercy. He meets us in the middle of our need, not in the celebration of sin. That’s the heartbeat of grace. This grace is captured powerfully in the account of the thief on the cross and echoed in Steven Curtis Chapman’s song, “Love Wins (The Thief).” The thief was broken. Deserving of judgment. Out of time. While others mocked Jesus, the thief recognized his guilt in the presence of holiness. Jesus responded without scorn or harsh judgment, but with a promise. “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:42–43). The thief didn’t earn salvation. He simply believed Jesus was who He said He was, acknowledged his guilt, and asked for what only Jesus could give him. Jesus said yes. Imagine that moment when the thief entered paradise. Maybe others asked, “What are you doing here?” He simply replied, “Jesus said I could come.” True love does not affirm every desire or applaud rebellion. Love doesn’t lie to make us feel better. True love sacrifices everything before offering us the greatest gift of all. This is how love wins, every single time. Not because the world redefined it, but because Jesus poured it out. Love wins, not as a hashtag, but as surrender.   ]]> https://growingupinthelord.com/love-wins/feed/ 0