Love.
It was radical when Jesus said it, but somehow, over 2000 years later, we still haven’t managed to get the point.
This week, Tim Thomas publicly announced that he believes in “traditional Biblical values” with respect to marriage. It follows, of course, that he does not believe in gay marriage.
I bet you think you know what I’m going to say in the post. At the very least, you think you’re going to read an article about my arguments about why I do or do not believe in gay marriage. The same would be true if I opened with a line about abortion, or pre-marital sex, or any of those divisive current issues in society. That is NOT what I’m writing about.
You know why? I don’t care. I’m not pushing any agenda to convince you to think like I do on any of those issues. Partly because, despite my Christian faith, I don’t really feel like I have a conclusive answer to any of those big questions. But MOSTLY because making laws to prevent people from getting married or ending their pregnancies or having sex before marriage is not going to show them love or compassion.
Jesus told us that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God, but that the second was to love our neighbours as ourselves (Matthew 22). He didn’t just talk the talk, either. He ate meals with tax collectors, He showed compassion to a woman who had already had FIVE husbands! He saved an adulterous woman from being stoned to death! Jesus genuinely loved every single person He came into contact with.
In my life, I have had struggles. It’s normal! The entire Bible tells us stories about people who weren’t good enough to live up to God’s standard. When I was stuck with thoughts about how much I hated my body, and battled with a 6-year struggle against an eating disorder, what if someone told me that what I was doing was immoral, and that they wanted to make it illegal? Would that have made me want to stop? Or would it have increased my shame and constant struggle with feeling inadequate?
If all of this is true… If Jesus wants us to love people, and I am not even close to being perfect, then what right do I have to tell people how to live? Perhaps it would be better to encourage young girls that they don’t have to have sex with their high-school boyfriends to be accepted, or to recognize that same-sex attraction is a confusing and difficult emotion for a lot of people. Maybe once we start actually loving the people around us, they won’t get so angry and alienated by us.
Ghandi said, “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ.” He wasn’t wrong when he said this, guys. If Jesus were here right now, I would be ashamed of how dissimilar I am from Him.
So, what do I think about gay marriage? Of abortion? I think they are tough issues, and instead of choosing a “pro” or “anti” side, I’m just going to say this: I love gay people. I love the women who get abortions. Because that’s what Jesus would have done. And if I’m fighting for the law and losing track of Jesus, then what am I fighting for? The law will pass, along with all other temporary things in the world.
God is forever. Love is forever. I choose that side.
