When pervasive Christian thought is filtered by the media and radical agenda pushes into mainstream ideals, the world tends to lump all people together. The voices of the most obnoxious get the best ratings and tend to penetrate the public view of who and what certain people believe in. We have a very distorted view of what Christ followers (some call them Christians) believe on the topic of homosexuality.
As I sat in my local coffee shop working on homework I looked up and noticed a group of men waiting on their coffees. One of them pointed to the back of my computer and they all began to chuckle. The laughs turned to whispers and before I knew it they were making gestures that left me saying, "What the heck!"
I closed my computer, thinking I must have something funny stuck to the back of it for them to be behaving the way they were. Quickly, I realized that there was in fact something stuck to my computer...
As I sat in my local coffee shop working on homework I looked up and noticed a group of men waiting on their coffees. One of them pointed to the back of my computer and they all began to chuckle. The laughs turned to whispers and before I knew it they were making gestures that left me saying, "What the heck!"
I closed my computer, thinking I must have something funny stuck to the back of it for them to be behaving the way they were. Quickly, I realized that there was in fact something stuck to my computer...
"Oh no!!" I thought to myself. They think that I'm one of them. They think I'm a 'Christian.'
The young man looked straight into my eyes, pulled his partner close and planted a kiss right on his lips. With his eyes still focused on mine I tried to look away and break eye contact. They all giggled at my apparent 'uncomfortableness.'
The things is... I wasn't uncomfortable because of their public display of affection. I was uncomfortable that they clearly believed that by me having a sticker on my computer that read, "I am the apple of God's eye" that it most certainly meant I thought that I was above them. I was uncomfortable to be called a Christian in that moment.
You see I'm not a Christian. Over half of our country uses that term and it is very unimpressive to me.
I'm not a Christian... I'm a Christ follower.
I follow Christ. I follow the living God. The God that came to this earth for the prostitute, leper, tax collector, lame, weak, dumb and blind.... The same God that came to earth and died for me also came to earth and died for homosexuals.
These men thought I was one of those Christians. One of those Christians that make no attempt to look or act like Christ.
I am the 'apple of God's eye' because he loves me, period. I didn't have to get all cleaned up to approach his throne. When I approached His throne dirty and full of sin and shame is when I realized that I wanted to be different. I wanted to begin to remove all of the things from my life that separated me from Him.
If I could talk with those men (or any homosexual) here is what I'd say:
1) I'm not a Christian, I'm a Christ follower. There is a big difference. I believe that Christ died for you and for me.
2) "I'm sorry!" I'm sorry that the Christian agenda has left you feeling unwanted, weird, like a freak, or an outsider. Your homosexuality doesn't make me uncomfortable. What does make me uncomfortable is my counterparts use of the Bible. I'm very clear on what the Bible says about 'homosexuality' and I'm also very clear on what it says about divorce, lying, stealing, cheating, pornography, premarital sex, gluttony, idolatry, gossip and slander.... "I'm sorry!"
3) I do believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. I do believe that homosexuality is a sin. I do believe that 'marriage' is a gift from God and that Satan has tried to skew and pervert it in many ways from the beginning of time. I believe in protecting the sanctity of marriage by personally investing in my own. By being an example to those I encounter, instead of another stumbling block.
4) I'm not intimidated by your desire for equality. I get it... I really do.
5) I would invite you to sit next to me in church. You are no different than the couple that sits in front of me with two kids, living together and unmarried. You are no different from the man sitting two rows over who tucks his family into bed at night and heads to the dark corners of his home to view pornography. You are no different than the couple that sits six rows down from me that just signed divorce papers and are headed after church to tell their kids the devastating news. You are no different than most people who sit in church every Sunday. You have been made the object of Christian attention when our aim shouldn't be on you... It should be on ourselves.
6) You have a choice just like I do. Your choice to serve God or not, is uniquely your own. Christians focus and drive to rid the world of 'ungodliness' has come across as an attack on your character. Christians have chosen to make an object out of your behavior because in some weird way it makes them feel more 'Christian-like.' Your decision to engage in a homosexual relationship separates you from God... just like my decision to gossip yesterday about my 'friend' did. You have to repent and so do I. It's a personal decision. God won't force himself on you and neither should Christians.
7) 'Christians' in general DO NOT speak on behalf of God. You have to be incredibly BOLD to say you speak the words of God himself. We cannot take our loose translation of the Bible and broadly apply it in ways it was never meant to be applied. The Bible I read speaks far more about loving people then it does about any other thing. I read of a God who reached down and picked up a woman caught in the act of a 'sexual sin' and rebuked those there waiting to stone her to death (the religious folk).
8) I have worked with, had relatives and friends that are gay and they are not freaks. In fact, they have been some of the first people to give me a hug on a terrible day at work. Some of the first people to remind me how special they think I am. They are caring, compassionate, loving and accepting of all people. You are not freaks. Christ-followers really do like you. We really do want you to see Christ in us and not some hidden agenda. We just haven't handled ourselves in a Godly fashion.
So the next time you see my computer don't assume you know me or what I stand for. Don't assume that your behavior is appalling to me or that I am judging you. I recognize your need for Christ in the same way I recognize my own need. I need Jesus everyday just the same way I know you do.
When you see me and want to 'gross me out' or 'shock me,' remember I'm no different than you. You don't like being lumped together with all the radical 'gay' people so don't lump me together with all of the 'Christians' you read about or see on T.V. Give me a chance as an individual. Don't judge my intentions because of the actions of others.
To my fellow Christ-followers... Let's not pick and choose which one of the sins we want to shine a light on. Let's shine a light on sin... period. Let's strengthen marriage from within and be more focused on our judgmental, condemning spirit and a little less on the fact that Tom is kissing Jim in Starbucks.
Sin is sin! Period. We use these very bold signs to throw back and forth at each other. Almost to say we are from two very different worlds. When in fact we are not. We are all people in need of a savior and Satan is incredibly clever at making sure we never find any sort of common ground to establish relationship.
You can have both.
As Christ followers we can begin to see people, not gay or straight, just people.
The gay community needs to realize that not all Christians are Christ-followers.
Stop believing the lie so rooted in fear that "terrible things are happening in our country because of our removal of God from school and government."
Last I knew God doesn't live in establishment, He lives in people. Start being those people.
~Nicole
