Some who fight for homosexual “rights” accuse Christians of being hateful because of their support for the traditional definition of marriage. But there is a fundamental problem with that equation. A Christian, by definition, cannot hate homosexuals.
Christians follow the teachings of Christ. And Christ summarized all the law with two simple rules: (1) “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind,” and (2) “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The truth is that if anyone hates homosexuals then they cannot call themselves a Christian. Hate towards neighbors and Christianity are mutually exclusive.
In fact, the Apostle Paul tells us that, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar.” He continued, “And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also” (emphasis in original).
So the commandment is clear and offers no exceptions.
It is true that Scripture even calls us to “love our enemies.” Yet, I am hesitant to use that passage in this context, because I do not want to suggest that homosexuals are somehow our enemies. They are not.
But I don’t want to be nae either, suggesting that there are not a few extreme homosexual activists who not only despise Christians, but have also declared war against Christ and his teachings. And Christ calls us to love them still.
More specifically, He calls us to bless them when they curse us, do good to them who hate us, and pray for them when they spitefully use us and persecute us.
Now, that’s all well and good in theory, but how does this look in practice? Well, I can say that I have in my life, just like most of the readers, close friends and family members who describe themselves as homosexuals. And I love them.
They know where I stand on the issue of marriage and homosexuality. They know I believe that government should not promote their lifestyle. I have shared what I believe God’s grace can do in their lives. That they are not slaves to their desires. We’ve talked about it privately, and I write about it publicly. Some have even gotten mad at me because of something I have said or written. But our friendship goes on, because it goes beyond homosexuality. They are much more than that.
I am committed to pray for them, and not only about salvation, as some seem to think. They have many worries in life (as we all do) and I pray for those, especially when they ask me to.
I won’t lie and say my heart doesn’t hurt for them. They truth is that many of their struggles are centered on their lifestyle. And the great majority carry enormous hurt from their past.
So I pray for peace, joy, and mercy in their lives. That’s the Christian approach. That is, at least, for those who follow the teachings of Christ.
Because there are indeed those who most definitely do not follow the teachings of Christ, even as they call themselves “Christians.” Christ also warned us against them. “Beware of false prophets,” He said, “who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” And again, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
The bottom line is a Christian must behave like a Christian. Or he or she is not a Christian at all. We stand for God’s model for marriage and the family alone, and we love our homosexual neighbors. There is nothing incongruent about that.