Really good news does not come along all that often. When it does, we need to savour it, promote it, relish it, cherish it, celebrate it, and advertise it. There is always hope, and when good people do something (work a lot, pray a lot, etc), then real victories can and do happen.
By now most people – both supporters and opponents – would be aware that the Australian House of Representatives just hours ago voted on a bill from a Labor MP to legalise same-sex marriage. It was overwhelmingly defeated by a vote of 98 to 42.
This is a very significant victory for so many reasons, including the very wide margin of opposition to the bill. Many had thought that if the bill was defeated, it would be by a very small margin. So even though it is incredible to think that we have 42 political leaders willing to destroy marriage and family to placate activist agendas, we still had 98 who stood strong.
For those who are interested – and we all should be – you can see who voted and how they voted here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/106321292/Same-Sex-Votes
It is most revealing to see who voted for and against. For example, we have Labor MPs like Peter Garrett who claim to be Christians, yet somehow think that the Christian thing to do here is to tell God he is wrong about marriage, and that he needs to get with the times. How such people can live with their conscience baffles me. And what they say and do when they stand before their Maker will be interesting indeed. I would not want to be in their shoes then.
Then we have fakes like Oakeshott, who already conned his electorate into believing he was somehow a conservative, only to betray them and side with the lefties in Labor. He too voted for the destruction of marriage. Shame on him.
And to their credit, a number of Labor MPs voted against their own team on this. These include Gillard, Rudd, Danby, Swan, Emerson, and McClelland. The Liberals and Nationals all voted as a block, as per Tony Abbott’s instructions. The opposition leader is to be commended for standing strong here.
Rejoicing and thanks
As mentioned, such victories do not come around all that often, so the champagne corks certainly deserve to be flying here. We had a similar win back in 2004 of course with the passing of the Marriage Amendment Act. That was a terrific victory and there certainly were big celebrations going on over that win as well.
Of course that should have been the end of the matter, but the activists keep at it nonetheless. So we have had to fight this battle all over again. As Margaret Thatcher once rightly put it, “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.”
Quite so. But we can nonetheless take some time out to celebrate and give thanks. And I must give thanks to every single one of you who did something on this important issue. Some of you prayed, or wrote letters, or emailed MPs, or contacted Senators personally, or got on to talk-back radio, or sent in letters to the editor, and so on.
So very many of you did so much, and I applaud you and your efforts. Sure, this is a victory which is ultimately due to God and his grace, but he works through his people. So thank you so much for getting involved in this, for caring, for praying, and for acting. We could not have won without all your help.
And who knows? Maybe this victory will last for quite some time. Perhaps this is more monumental of a win than we realise. Just on Monday when I was at Parliament House, Canberra, Kevin Andrews told a group of us that he was somewhat surprised that the defeat of euthanasia back in 1997 (thanks to his private members’ bill) was still going strong.
Sure, many attempts to legalise euthanasia have been made since then, but it still remains illegal in this nation. That was a real encouraging reminder. Thanks to his efforts and the efforts of so many others, the battle over euthanasia has at least been kept in check for some 15 years now. That is great news indeed.
As I say, this is not the end of the marriage battle – not by any means. But it is a wonderful victory along the way. Thanks to all of you who prayed and worked so hard to make this happen.
A word of warning
At a time like this however there is always the danger of complacency. We can be tempted to think: “Well, we won, so it is back to business as usual. I signed a petition and sent off a quick email, and did my bit, so now I can go back into retirement mode.”
While we are all so grateful for any work you may have done here, it is not over as I already warned. Indeed, the battles continue to rage. We must not drop our guard here. The other side is certainly not going to just go away quietly now. They will be redoubling their efforts.
And so should we. We must remain alert and continue to pray and work for religious freedom, for the wellbeing of marriage and family, and so on. Not only will the activists keep pushing their destructive agenda on the Federal level, but so too on the state level. Right now four bills on homosexual marriage exist in various states and territories, with more likely on the way.
So we dare not let our guard down here.
Action
When the celebrations have died down, there is still work to be done. Not only must we be vigilant about future moves by the activists, but we have some more work to do right now. First, please contact those who voted against this bill and thank them heartily. See the list above for names, and see here for contacts: http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian_Search_Results?page=1&q=&mem=1&par=-1&gen=0&ps=10&st=1
Also, contact those who voted for it, and remind them that they may be in a tenuous position come the next election! Let them know you do not appreciate how they are working to destroy marriage, and you will not forget this in upcoming elections.
And one last thing: Senator Cory Bernardi has just been forced to resign his position as opposition parliamentary secretary because he dared to speak truth on this issue. For daring to suggest that there is a real slippery slope here, all hell has broken out.
Please write and offer him your support, encouragement and prayers: senator.bernardi@aph.gov.au
And write to Tony Abbott and ask him to reinstate Bernardi: Tony.Abbott.MP@aph.gov.au
Thanks again one and all. It was a magnificent victory. All glory to God!
http://www.smh.com.au/national/gay-marriage-bill-defeated-20120919-266a8.html
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/senator-cory-bernardi-says-accepting-same-sex-marriage-will-normalise-bestiality/story-e6frf7jo-1226476963864
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