As believers who experience the freedom of following God’s Word, it grieves our hearts to see our country ignoring the mystical wisdom of Scripture for the rational and practical choice as seen in the recent decision that all states must uphold marriage in a new way—other than between one man and one woman. It’s sad because it is more evidence of ignoring of God’s wisdom that He gave us in Scripture. It reflects our nature to doubt God’s goodness and find our own way to make life work.

This is not the first national decision that ignores God’s goodness in His instruction for life on this earth through the wisdom He gave us in His Word. Nor will it be the last. The world doesn’t know the liberty we believers experience by following His precepts and guides for living. The decision to grant marriage rights to those who do not know the love of God makes sense in our world today. Why shouldn’t they have social security benefits, insurance coverage, and other privileges offered to married people by the state and federal government?

If they would come to church and ask this question, we have an answer in God’s Word. The church is the place where people are welcome to come and sit and learn about the love of God that sets them free. It’s only the power of the goodness of God that opens the hearts of humans to find the liberty that He gives us through following His laws of love.

The royal law, according to James the first leader of the church, is: “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right” (James 2:8). Loving your neighbor is the royal law of God. It’s heartbreaking for me to hear the summation of the campaign for homosexual marriage, Love Wins, not coming from the church. Love Wins is the slogan of the church. It is our greatest commandment; it is our royal law. How are we doing? Are we answering those who do not uphold the law of God in love?

Love is what sets us free. Love drives away our fears. Love must overflow from our hearts to the whole world. Love is our true liberty. When marital love fails, where will people find the true love of God if they have been given a gospel of rejection? Should we be surprised that those who do not understand God’s great love for us in His Word search for love in human form? Don’t we do the same? How do we find true love? Is it a struggle for us? Who can show us true love? Isn’t it found by being discipled by those who love God and share their own journeys with us? We need to be the church where true love wins. Let’s be the church that explains God’s liberty. Let’s admit His ways are above our ways. Let’s help the world see the love, joy, peace and total liberty that come from following His loving guide to life on earth. It includes sexual purity, not just for homosexuals but for heterosexuals as well. Living the life God shows us to live in His Word is not rational. It is not easy. It goes against our sinful desires. It does lead to liberty.

May the church triumph. Let’s not feel defeated by a federal decision. Let’s see our failures to love and show the goodness of God through discipling a nation. Let’s get to work. Above all, let’s follow the royal law of loving others as we love ourselves when we talk about the truth of God in the context of His great love for us by what we say and how we behave.