Coming Out...for Christ

In the spiritual sense, when we speak of victory, we are referring to the finished work of Christ through His death and resurrection, defeating the power of sin and death and conferring upon us, as
believers in Christ, the ability to live an overcoming life. In 1st Corinthians 15, we find these verses:
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

We still have the capability to sin because we are in our earthly bodies, we are in the flesh.  And, we live in a fallen world.  But, we have the ability to experience Christ's victory.  The Bible teaches us how we can resist temptation and how we can exercise His victory over the sins that we are tempted to commit.  We can put to death our sinful patterns, renew our minds, confess our sins, and appropriate His victory.  We can walk in triumph!

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Our Savior came so that we might be free, so that we can enjoy a right relationship with God and His
victory over sin. Colossians 1 teaches us:
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

In an age where social media platforms are attempting to eliminate the compelling stories of those who have experienced God's transformation in overcoming homosexuality or same-sex attraction, the stories keep coming - His truth will not be silenced, and we can be thankful for those who are speaking out about what God has done in their lives.

Kylie Delia from Malta is one such person, according to ChristianNews.net.  The story relates that, in a YouTube video...

Delia explained that she was raised in a home marred by violence and drug abuse. She herself became involved in drugs at 13, and as she was surrounded by an atmosphere of “dominant” men, she viewed herself as needing to protect women from men. Delia soon took on a masculine appearance as seeing herself as feminine made her feel like she was weak and subject to abuse.

She looked for "happiness" in alcohol.  And, at the age of 15, she "became involved in her first same-sex relationship."  But the satisfaction she sought for her soul was elusive, as she relates:

“As time went on, in those relationships I found there was a sense of [a] deep void in my life and I was searching for fulfillment in these relationships and other things in life,” Delia outlined. “But it seems as if I never found that sense of fulfillment, that sense of satisfaction, and I longed in my heart for more and more.”

Ultimately, Delia's parents underwent a transformation in their own lives.  She relates: “[W]hen I saw my father quitting drugs and my parents became both radically saved, and the atmosphere of the whole house changed and shifted in such a miraculous way, that’s when the journey for me began to start [thinking] about my faith..."

She began to encounter people who would share with her about Christ, and finally she attended church. She came to Christ, and says:

“I had to find that place of being whole just in Christ because another person doesn’t make you whole, irrespective of gender,” she said. “God had me in this season, where I was just immersed in His presence and just focused on who He says I am and building myself up as a woman in Christ.”

God showed Kylie that homosexuality was not in His will, and she no longer saw it as a "fixed identity."  He began to give her a fresh view of men.  She relates: “He started to take me through seasons and challenges of forgiving the people who hurt me and actually going and seeking reconciliation, and I had to do that step with my father,” she recalled. “And once I was doing these things, God was restoring the way that I viewed men. And I kind of realized that men aren’t [all] abusive, obviously.”

She is now bold to share her story and is part of an organization called, X-Out-Loud, which is based in Europe and encourages those who have experienced freedom from the gay lifestyle to speak out boldly.

What has God done in your life?  We know that because we have been saved, we have been transferred from one kingdom to another - from the kingdom of darkness into His wonderful light. And, even though we are vulnerable to temptation from the desires of the flesh, we have the capability in Christ to overcome them.  We are no longer identified as what we were but by who we are. We have been declared free from sin, holy and righteous - now it's a matter of walking in that new life.  And, we can reflect on how we have seen God's faithfulness expressed in our lives.

What has God done in your life?  We can define it and we can distribute it through the proclamation of our testimony.  We are not called to keep it to ourselves, but to live it out and to share it with people who need to know Jesus.  Kylie Delia is a great example of the transformative power of the gospel - but her story is essentially each of our stories; her dominant sin was homosexuality and she was able to overcome it.  But, all of us have a common story: we have come to Christ as sinners, each of us have had and continue to struggle with sins which can seek to recapture us.  But, God doesn't leave us without resources - we are free in Him and by His Spirit, emboldened by His Word, we can continue to live that out.