Recently in the USA gay marriage was legalized for all 50 states by the US Supreme court.
I have to say from the other side of the world I was appalled by the "hate speak" I heard from "Christians" judgementally condemning the LGBT culture. This is no way to evangelize.
Christ, while here on earth and now, was and is all about relationship. He was friends with the sinners and tax collectors. I sometimes envision Him in a bar shooting pool or whatever they did in the bars back then. The point is He wasn't judging, He was wooing the lost to Him with love.
He tells us not to judge. He certainly didn't.
And He died for ALL because He loves us ALL - and we all have sins - for some it may be sex outside God-sanctioned bounds, for others it's gluttony, laziness, pride, judgementalism, pornography, self-harm, alcoholism, drug abuse, compulsive shopping or gambling....go on....there are numerous sins. And we are all broken.
"Judgement is a terrible evangelism strategy.
People don't line up to be judged."
Carey Nieuwhof http://careynieuwhof.com
Jesus said God will judge us by the same standard with which we judge others.
(Matthew 7:2)
We've all been saved by grace, not by our own righteous deeds (Ephesians 2:9)
Amy Grant sings a song, "Better Than A Hallelujah", and the chorus says, "We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah"
People want love. People want to be listened to. Building relationships is so much better and Christ-like than judgementalism and hate.
So love people. Especially the people with whom you disagree.
Listen to them. Pray for them.
I've been reading a book titled "The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert" by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield. She used to be lesbian. And her book is her story of how Christ changed her life. It's a good read. She was drawn to Christ by love and acceptance, not hate and judgement.
The radical ethic of grace and truth found in Jesus is more desperately needed in our world today than ever before.
Christians have always flourished under persecution. Christ promised life would be hard. He also promised He's with us every step of the way.
So let's extend grace. Let's let His light shine.