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| Image credit: purplemoon.com |
This piece is about a polarizing subject: homosexuality. It is based on experience and is by no means an attempt to defend or attack homosexuality.
Here are the facts...
Four years ago I had one friend who was a homosexual. Today I have 8 homesexual friends. Four years ago I had very little contact with the homosexual community. I was locked in a bubble. A bubble in which either 1.) homosexuals were not accepted, or 2.) homosexuals lived by the former U.S. Army's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.
When I stepped out of this bubble, I experienced a season of 'culture shock.' All of a sudden I was placed in situations in which much of my thinking was challenged. What do I believe? How should I act towards homosexuals? What do/don't I say? All my soul searching came down to one verb: LOVE.
Love is not a feeling, but a choice and action. We decide to love. Even when it may feel difficult or even uncomfortable to love. As a sinner, I do not always walk the path of love. I learn to love a little more everyday.
In the fall of 2008, my wife, Misty and I attended an evening lecture at our church. The speaker was Andrew Marin. He shared his story about his involvement with Chicago's homosexual community. His story is documented in his well-received book, Love is an Orientation. After his speech, my Misty and I had the opportunity to talk with Andrew. His answer to all of our questions is summed up in that powerful verb, love. "Love your homosexual friends. Treat them like people. Accept them. Do not exclude them. Support their dreams like you would support the dreams of your heterosexual friends."
Since that evening in 2008 I have sought to live like this, with kindness, hospitality, concern, love. Yes, I mess up sometimes, but I always try to look beyond creed, color, and orientation and treat everyone as the children God created.
So, in this electrically charged nation where homosexuality is a hot-button issue, let us as Christians (little-Christs) live like Christ lived. I end with two questions:
- Would Jesus socialize with a homosexual?
- Would he be friends, great friends, with a homosexual?
With something to think about,
Wayne