If anyone would have had a good reason to want to alter her/his genetic assignment, it would have been Jesus.  But, why didn’t He pursue that?

When we ‘look unto Jesus’, we never see any vestiges of self-interest, whether self-actualization or self-aggrandizement.  So we don’t see Him scurrying about in a restless pursuit of self-fulfillment.  Quite the contrary.  We see a ‘human being’ (though also God in the flesh) determined to make nothing of self and everything of God, the Father.  Jesus’ values and virtues were all funneled together into His relentless involvement in the things of God.  Therefore, we see Him much preoccupied with several convictions.

First, Jesus was preoccupied with an acknowledgement of the POSITION of GOD.   Jesus once said, ‘No one has ever seen God, except the One and Only Son, Who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known’.  John 1:18.  And when He talked about God, Jesus said that God is ‘Our Father Who is in Heaven.  Hallowed is Your Name’.  God exists in such a position that Jesus Himself was compelled to ‘humble Himself’ before God.  Jesus carefully lived before Him Who is ‘High and lifted up’.  There was no room for living for self.

Second, Jesus was preoccupied with the advancement of the PRINCIPLES of GOD.  Twice Jesus mentioned His preoccupation with the will of God.  He said, ‘My food is to do the will of Him (the Father) Who sent Me and to finish His work’ (John 4:34) and ‘I have come not to do My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me’ (John 6:38).  This conviction left no room for living for self.

Third, Jesus was preoccupied with the acceptance of the PURPOSES of GOD.  On the night of His betrayal by Judas Iscariot, while wrestling with the realities of what that betrayal meant as it played out over the next 24 hours, Jesus said, ‘Father if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me, but nevertheless, not My will but Yours be done’.  (Luke 22:42).  Jesus’ conviction concerning the purposes of God regardless of the pain associated with those purposes left no room for living for self.

In light of the example and teaching of Jesus, my thoughts about ‘transgenderism’ are these…

Perhaps those who struggle with their unique personal identity and gender assignment, who struggle with being ‘trapped’ in an assignment that they do not like or want, who long for a way of dealing with the feelings of longing for relief, could benefit from following Jesus’ example and put God above self and faith above feelings.  Perhaps this would allow them to find enough strength to exchange the effort of ‘reordering culture’ (a temporary relief at best) for the enjoyment of discovering a ‘relationship with Christ’ (a permanent freedom at the least).

As one of our beloved songs suggests ‘…reach out to Jesus, He’s reaching out to you’….