Dear LGBTQ friends,
There is not a flag over my profile picture. Please do not
take this to mean I love you any less or wish to judge how you live your life.
I have no right to do so, especially if you do not claim to be a Christian. How
can I, or anyone else, ask you to live by the commands of someone you do not
choose to follow? I would be appalled to
be required by the law of our land to follow Sharia Law when I do not follow
the tenants of Islam. I do not have a flag on my picture because I believe that
the government should have LESS say over personal and religious matters that don't harm anyone else (like
marriage) as opposed to more. It’s not that I don’t want the government to legalize
your marriage; it’s that I don’t want it to “legalize” mine.
I’m sorry that there is so much polarization and hate coming
at you “in the name of Christianity”. I’m sorry that so many are screaming
about gay marriage when they’re silent about premarital sex, divorce,
infidelity, lust and other sexual sins clearly listed in the Bible that are rampant
in the church today. I’m sorry that you have faced hate and discrimination
while we conveniently ignore the sins in our own lives. I’m sorry this is not more common:
While I cannot morally encourage what I believe to be
sinful, I believe in a God who sent a Savior for EVERY sinner, including me. I believe in a loving, merciful and just God
who created us with the free will to choose whether or not to worship Him
through our choice to follow His commands. I pray that the people in your life
who believe that there are consequences for choosing not to follow Him love you
enough to push you towards Him, but ultimately, that choice is yours. I do not
believe a government should try to take that free will away by legislating
religion, so in that, I’m am glad for the equality you were given Friday – I just
wish the government didn’t get to define or redefine marriage at all.
If you are someone who claims faith in Jesus Christ’s life,
death and resurrection and also identifies as LGBTQ, I pray that there are other Christians in
your life who are close enough with you for you to invite into respectful and
loving discussions of all the struggles, sins, joys, temptations, and
heartaches in your life and that you can do the same for them. I do believe
that part of loving our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ is to lovingly
tell them hard truths – but so many miss the loving part. I also pray that the Christians with whom are you
are not that close, likely including me; simply treat you with the
understanding that you are a child of God, made in His image and loved by Him
unconditionally.
I’m sorry for the image of Christianity that so many are portraying
today. Please know that there are Christians who love you unconditionally, whether
or not they agree with the SCOTUS ruling.
Megan
