Curtis Hill told us last Wednesday in The Daily Campus why he chose to be gay. I can relate to his article in many ways because I have struggled with homosexuality. I say “struggle” because I have always believed what the Bible says about homosexual behavior, but I could not deny my thoughts and feelings. I didn’t ask God or anyone else for them. I struggled with not knowing what to do about them. As I have continued growing in my faith as a follower of Jesus Christ, though, God has shown me that my thoughts and feelings do not define who I am. This was hard to accept at first, but I chose to believe God’s word over what I thought or felt. Curtis Hill wrote that one’s “sexuality does not make them a bad person.” I say that your sexuality does not define who you are. Hill also commented, “To this day, there is a war being waged against homosexuality.” I believe there is an even greater war being waged against the identity of this generation. So many are defining themselves by their sexuality, accomplishments, failures, culture or background, appearance or what someone else thinks – the list goes on. None of these define a person. What does define us? Jesus Christ. The word of God. Romans 1:25-26 says, “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie…For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions.” What we believe about God and about ourselves directly affects how we behave. If our beliefs stray from God’s word, then so will our actions, and we will suffer the consequences. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). I choose life by putting my faith in Jesus, believing his word and following him. I do not believe that a person chooses to be attracted to men or to women, but I do believe that a person chooses to engage in the behavior. I believe that the term “homosexual” describes what a person does, not who a person is. A liar is someone who lies. A murderer is someone who murderers. An adulterer is one who commits adultery. If someone were to commit these against you or someone you know, would you accept the reasoning of, “I was born this way,” or, “This is how God made me”? God did not make anyone a liar, a murderer, an adulterer or a homosexual. He made us in his image, according to his likeness with a purpose and destiny of knowing him, knowing Jesus intimately, and ruling with him in his kingdom (Genesis 1:26, John 17:3). However you were ‘born,’ Jesus says that “unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). The Apostle Paul writes, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Following Jesus involves us experiencing a changed life and a changed way of thinking and believing. I invite everyone reading this to turn from everything the Bible calls sin and turn to Jesus Christ. I also invite you to stop defining yourselves with anything but Jesus and his word. Jesus warns us that Satan has come “to steal, kill and destroy,” but Jesus came that we might have life “to the fullest measure” (John 10:10). If you are defining who you are by anyone or anything besides Jesus, then you are allowing Satan to rob you of your destiny in Jesus the Messiah and the fullness of life he offers. I have become more and more secure in who I am as a child of God. This has been a gradual process motorized by daily speaking and believing the Bible. My Christian friends have been essential. They remind me of what God’s word says about me: I am a child of God. A friend of Christ. A saint. Redeemed and forgiven. All through – and only through – faith in Jesus Christ. He defines me. Nothing else. There is a war against our identity. I choose to be a child of God through Jesus Christ and experience life in the fullest measure.

Matthew Esquivel is a senior vocal performance major. He can be reached at mesquive@ smu.edu.