Well folks, I’m ashamed to admit that I was sucked into the Bachelorette drama this year. Usually I avoid the show at all costs because the whole premise of the show I find to cheapen love. Also there is just way too much drama for me. But after seeing some ridiculous videos of Luke P. going around I had to check it out for myself, just to see if this guy was for real. (And unfortunately, he was for real).
If you haven’t kept up with this season, you should know that the drama climaxed when Luke P., an outspoken Christian, confronted Hannah about her sex life on the show. Hannah, who is also outspoken about her faith, was not happy about the confrontation and made the now famous statement: Yes, I’m having sex with guys on the show, “and guess what, Jesus still loves me.”
Let me pause here and say that this is not a blog defending Luke P. Because come on… at some point you have to own up to your character flaws instead of defending EVERY conversation you have with “I was misunderstood.” This blog is also not intended to ‘slut shame’ Hannah, as she was quick to claim.
I’ve seen this “Jesus still loves me” quote circling the internet as Hannah has become a hero to both Christian and progressive women. While I consider myself to be both of these things, it’s slowly breaking my heart how quickly this idea is catching on. But please, hear me out in this open letter:
Dear Hannah Brown,
Oh sweet sister in Christ… Yes, Jesus still loves you. Of COURSE he still loves you.
When it comes to Jesus, it has NEVER been a question about his love.
He made his love for us very clear when He was on the cross.
This is also not a question of if God still wants you or if you are or are not saved. And this is not a conversation about what you as a Christian can or cannot do.
But Hannah, I’m afraid your theology is just a little bit off. I think you represent a common philosophy held by most people, unfortunately including many American Christians. You represent in part the idea that Christianity is synonyms with morality. That it’s just about doing the right thing. I don’t blame you for thinking this way. I too bought into this skewed version of Christianity myself at one point.
But you see, the Christian life is not about doing good. And conversely it’s not about doing ‘bad’ but being forgiven. Oh sister, it’s so much more! It’s first a foremost a relationship with the Lord.
American Christianity and Evangelism tends to start by emphasizing the sin of man and then introducing the Savior. But remember that’s not where the story starts. It’s starts in a garden. It’s starts in a perfect world, with a perfect love between a Father and His children. It all starts with a relationship.
You see, the tragedy of sin is not that we are going to hell.
The tragedy is that the perfect relationship was shattered.
The thing about sin is that it isn't about the sin at all. It's about what sin does to the relationship. We are not saved to escape hell. We are saved to reconcile our relationship with the Lord.
Unfortunately, we’ve successfully turned this narrative of a beautiful relationship with a father, into a scary business deal with an all powerful overseer. So no, I don’t blame you or anyone else for thinking this way. Unfortunately, this line of thinking turns our view of sin into a checklist of what we can do, what we can’t do, and what we maybe can get away with.
You’re right Hannah. Everybody sins. Everybody has their ‘thing’ that they struggle with. However, you along with so many others who are openly representing Christianity in the media, are not struggling with your sin. You have communicated that you have wholeheartedly embraced it.
There is a difference between ‘slipping up’ (as I think Luke P was very poorly trying to imply) and embracing a lifestyle of sin.
Yes, the arms of the Father are always open. So why then would we consistently
choose to participate in things that hurt the heart of God?
This is not about standing in front of a judge and getting away with your behavior. Because by the grace of God we are covered by Jesus’ work on the cross. This is about standing in front of your Father, and over and over again telling him “I knew this would hurt you, but I did it anyways.”
Listen, this is not me standing on higher moral ground than you. Because this truth applies to all sin, not just to premarital sex. For ALL have sinned (Romans 3:23) and I too struggle daily. This is not about whether or not you are saved, or if you are going to heaven. And this is not about whether or not Jesus loves you. This is a call for us all to choose to please the heart of the Father, rather than to choose to hurt Him for our own pleasure.
This is a higher call to purity and righteousness that strengthens our relationship with the Lord,
and gives us even just a glimpse of the perfect reunion that is to come.
The grace of God is a beautiful and undeserved gift. It is a safety net to catch us when we fall. It is not a trampoline that we constantly jump down on to.
There will always be grace. There will always be love. But let our motivation
for accepting the grace of God be pure.
"Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?" (Romans 6:1-2)
