"The Gift"

by

Janice Van Cleve

But what if they're all wrong? What if these characterizations fail to describe what transvestism really is? What if instead we try to look at transvestism as a gift; and not just any gift, but a gift created by Almighty God Himself and deliberately bestowed by Him on certain chosen individuals to fulfill His divine plan. Zounds! Awesome! Radical! Yes, and frightening, too.

Of course nowhere in the Bible does Christ say: "Hitch up your hose, girls, I've got plans for you". However, He does reveal a vision of His gifts to us in all their wonderful diversity through Paul: "There are different gifts but the same Spirit; there are different ministries but the same Lord; there are different works but the same God who accomplishes all of them in everyone. To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good...preaching, teaching, faith, healing, miracles, prophesy, recognizing spirits, tongues and the interpretation of tongues. All these are the manifestation of one and the same Spirit, who distributes different gifts to different people just as he chooses" (1 Cor 12:4-11).

What's that? You didn't see transvestism in the list? Paul does not pretend that this short list includes all of God's gifts to us. He itemizes more in Romans 12:6-8 and Jesus names others in the Beatitudes such as meekness, thirst for justice, peacemaking and the rest. Indeed there are many gifts - named and unnamed - given to us "for the common good".

So why not transvestism? There is not one shred of evidence that this is not a divine gift. Of course when most people think of divine gifts they think of musical ability, artistic talent, intelligence, charisma, good health, etc., but that is obviously too narrow a view. In a very touching story Jesus showed even blindness could be a gift: "He saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, for him to have been born blind?' 'Neither he nor his parents sinned, Jesus answered, 'he was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him'." (Jn 9:2-3) Then He gave the man sight.

Christians have always had difficulty comprehending how a loving, good, and merciful God could permit conditions that are contrary to their concept of good. Birth defects, arthritis, an untimely death, even AIDS - all the frailties of human existence - seem cruel. Some ascribe these to sin while others become callous or turn against their God. Their faith is lacking and Jesus calls them blind: "If you were blind, you would not be guilty, but since you say, 'We see,' your guilt remains." (Jn 9:41)

Is it not possible that even these so called evils are also gifts of God? And perhaps not just gifts to those stricken, but to all of us - to give us an opportunity to show care and love for all our brothers and sisters. Consider the story of the Good Samaritan: Was not the victim an opportunity for the Levite, the priest, and the Samaritan to show love for another human being? But only the Samaritan saw the "gift" in the situation and helped the victim.

In the same way Christians and others often fail to comprehend how transvestism (or transsexuality or homosexuality for that matter) could be God's blessing to certain chosen persons - for their benefit and the benefit of us all. Instead, some set themselves up as judges and condemn what their pride cannot accept. "You must love your neighbor as yourself; but as soon as you make distinctions between classes of people, you are committing sin", James warns them. Besides, "who are you to give a verdict on your neighbor?" (Jam 2:9, 4:12) Jesus Himself told Peter: "What God has made clean, you have no right to call profane." (Acts 11:9)

However, any gift may be used for good or evil. Everything God has created is good but its ultimate value depends on what we do with it. If we accept instantly realize that it can no longer remain a self-gratifying hobby or a mere aberration to be tolerated. Rather, it becomes a positive good - a calling or vocation. It is right and morally good to express it and morally wrong to suppress it. Chew on that, Jerry Falwell! See what power, what confidence, what affirmation we gain from accepting this as a gift! "If God is with us, who can stand against us?" (Rom 8:31) But wait! Before we charge off to conquer the world, take note: God's gifts do not come without strings. Remember the parable of the talents (Matt 25:14-30)?

Three servants were given gifts. Two dared to risk their gifts in investments and won a profit. The third suppressed his gift - and it was ripped from him and he was thrown out. If the two had risked and failed, would they have been punished? I think not. God does not allow us to be tested beyond our strength (1 Cor 10:16). The point is, the two acknowledged their gifts and accepted them. With faith in their master they tried and succeeded.

God's gifts are His investments in us and He expects a return on the investment. Paul's advice to Timothy applies equally to us: "You have in you a spiritual gift... do not let it lie unused" (1Tim4:14). The third servant did not use his gift and it was taken from him. The fig tree that did not bear fruit was ordered to be cut down (Lk 13:7-8). The Spirit who distributes these gifts "just as he chooses" gives some more gifts than others. Do not envy them; for the more they have been given, the more will be demanded of them (Lk 12:48)

And what return can we transvestites make on the investment our God has made in us? Certainly we do not propose to convert the world to TVism. That's absurd! We (and transsexuals and homosexuals) are born with our gift. We can no more teach someone without our gift to become one of us than a therapist can take the gift from one who is born with it. Like it or not the gift is given - it is ours - in us as an integral part of our unique being.

So what do we do with it? Certainly we have to acknowledge it and accept it. Then what? For starters we can learn from it. We can learn a deeper appreciation and respect for all people. As a minority we can see more clearly the stupidity of prejudice. We can embrace this gift, treasure it, enjoy it, explore and develop it to its full potential, and share it with others. We can help those similarly gifted: removing their fears and roadblocks so they can become all they were meant to be. "Each one of you has received a special grace, so, like good stewards responsible for all these different graces of God, put yourself at the service of others" (1 Pet 4:10).

And when we've learned to appreciate ourselves and others, and when we've given help to our sisters, then we can reach out to the public who do not share our gift. We can step out with pride in the full light of day as ornaments to our society. After all, "We are God's work of art, created in Christ Jesus to live the good life as from the beginning he had meant us to live it" (Eph 2:10).

We are needed in society - precisely because we cross a gender boundary which is taken for granted so complacently by the majority. Just by being who we are, we challenge false assumptions about gender and genuinely help the public reassess their attitudes. We demonstrate in our being the diversity of God's creative genius, and we help deflate the arrogance that leads to discrimination - against us and against other minorities.

We are all members of the same crew on spaceship Earth and we will all grow or die based on the contributions of each individual member. No one could contribute much if we were all the same, could we? "If your whole body was just one eye, how would you hear anything? If it was just one ear, how would you smell anything? Instead of that, God put all the separate parts into the body on purpose. If all the parts were the same, how could it be a body? As it is, the parts are many but the body is one. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I do not need you,' nor can the head say to the feet, 'I do not need you.'.. God has arranged the body so that... each part may be equally concerned for all the others. If one part is hurt, all parts are hurt with it. If one part is given special honor, all parts enjoy it" (1 Cor 12:17-21, 24-26).

We all have a place and a purpose in this world whether we understand it yet or not. Rednecks, Jews, men, women, whites & blacks, Baptists, bankers, gays, TVs & TSs - even Democrats - all are here at His command. Is this difficult to swallow? Even Paul had trouble with it but he understood: "I should like everyone to be like me, but everybody has his own particular gifts from God, one with a gift for one thing and another with a gift for the opposite" (1 Cor 7:7).

Accepting transvestism as a divine gift means accepting also the purpose for which it was given. That may be too uncomfortable for most. But those that do accept, acquire also the power and confidence that comes from being right - not just correct according to human logic - but morally right. Slander and abuse, criticism and laughter cannot defeat them. Their self assurance and open friendliness to all people win them friendliness in return. They take their place in society as a contributing member and the world is better for them.

It's a gift that truly keeps on giving.