Love
*sings* All we need is love! ba ba da badumba
I'm watching "Two Men and a Boy" or whatever that show with Charlie Sheen. . . I forget it's name. It's the episode where Charlie and Alan pretend to be gay.
This show always makes me think about the Church's response to homosexuality. Jesus calls us to love our neighbors, he doesn't put any qualifiers on it either. He didn't say "love your neighbor unless they're gay," he simply said "Love your neighbors." not only did he say this, but he said it is the second comand. So, obviously, loving your neighbor is a very important thing to do. . .
How do we love our neighbor though. In regards to homosexuality, is ignoring that a person is gay loving them? Or is loving them talking to them about the truth, trying to show them that Jesus is King. Some people seem to like to "love" homosexuals by shoving the Bible down their throats.
I don't really know the answer to this question. I have a friend who is gay and I don't know what to do. I love this guy and I want him to know Christ. But I don't think he believes in the Bible, so therefore quoting verses means nothing you know? If you don't believe in the Bible, using verses isn't going to persuade you of anything you know? I'm kind of tangenty tonight, I apologize.
So basically, how do we love people who are different from us?
I'm watching "Two Men and a Boy" or whatever that show with Charlie Sheen. . . I forget it's name. It's the episode where Charlie and Alan pretend to be gay.
This show always makes me think about the Church's response to homosexuality. Jesus calls us to love our neighbors, he doesn't put any qualifiers on it either. He didn't say "love your neighbor unless they're gay," he simply said "Love your neighbors." not only did he say this, but he said it is the second comand. So, obviously, loving your neighbor is a very important thing to do. . .
How do we love our neighbor though. In regards to homosexuality, is ignoring that a person is gay loving them? Or is loving them talking to them about the truth, trying to show them that Jesus is King. Some people seem to like to "love" homosexuals by shoving the Bible down their throats.
I don't really know the answer to this question. I have a friend who is gay and I don't know what to do. I love this guy and I want him to know Christ. But I don't think he believes in the Bible, so therefore quoting verses means nothing you know? If you don't believe in the Bible, using verses isn't going to persuade you of anything you know? I'm kind of tangenty tonight, I apologize.
So basically, how do we love people who are different from us?
posted by Angela at 8:41:00 PM
3 Comments:
This is something I've had to sort through as well. I have a number of friends who are gay. One even served with me on the leadership team at church in undergrad.
I've learned to love them just like I love all my friends. I don't change the way I talk to them or relate to them. Just like all my friends, I do my best to talk to them about the "important" stuff when it comes up, but I don't force it on them.
Make sense?
The love is not in the ability to quote a Bible verse, although that's a nice skill to have. The love is in the ability to take your friend into your heart and genuinely care for them, regardless of their missteps. Isn't that what Jesus did for you?
It's nice to see you in the blogosphere, Rue.
I know how that feels-I have some friends who are homosexual, and even had to deal with those rumors about my sexual orientation (remember that?). What I usually do is I say, "I'm not judging you. I don't agree with your choice of sexual attitude, and I will not live that way. However, I am not going to hold this difference in belief against you. I believe that lifestyle is wrong, but that doesn't mean that I will not be your friend, not hang out with you, not help you where/when I can. God thought you were incredibly special enough to be created - who am I to say that you are worth less than a heterosexual person?" This way, it shows my support of them, NOT their lifestyle, opens an opportunity to gently witness, and also expresses the firmly stated fact that I am NOT prejudiced and will continue to be there for them although I will not join nor advocate their lifestyle. It usually works very well - they don't hassle me, and the "witness" door is opened.
I'm not sure if you'll agree with this or not, but it's definitely something to think about. With these current times, we have to be more aware of cultural sensitivity than ever, even when those other cultures conflict with our beliefs. It's a challenge, but one we can all deal with.
Tamara
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