It all started with a question on Facebook: Would you attend a homosexual wedding/ceremony?
I took a double take when I read my friend's questions, but I knew there were some members of her family that were homosexual, and I thought she was talking about them.
Feeling firm in my beliefs, I replied, "If it was someone near and dear to me, I would express that I love them dearly, but I would not attend. Chances are if they are near to me, they would know my personal beliefs."
A few weeks later, I saw this friend. We spent the evening chatting it up with another friend, and talking about everything in the universe. I asked her about her Facebook question, and then she dropped the bomb. She was engaged to another woman. My heart sank. My head spun. My face was flushed. I didn't even see it coming.
The hardest thing for me to hear was when she said, "I know you can quote me a thousand verses of Scripture about why you think this is wrong. I don't want to hear it."
So I listened.
She told me about her relationship. There were a lot of things that weren't healthy in this relationship, but she was blind to them. The lump in my throat was so big, I couldn't voice them. Fortunately, our other friend who was there did.
Later, when I pulled out of the driveway headed home, I cried and prayed. I didn't know what to do next. I asked God to help me be a friend to her. I grew up hearing the phrase, "You can hate the sin and love the sinner," meaning you can be against the actions and still love the person. I had even said that same phrase to other people when advising them, but I had really never had to deal with it in such a personal way. I had no idea how to show her love.
I asked God to help, and He did. He gave me chances to show her love in tangible ways without having to compromise my beliefs.
It's hard for me sometimes to watch her make choices in her life. For me, most of my life's choices are black and white because I believe the Bible cover to cover, and God is the ultimate authority in my life. There are a lot of gray areas in her life. I'm not sure if it's because she doesn't know the Scripture or if she doesn't want to believe it. I sense in her life that there's a power struggle about who's really in charge. So I pray for her. We don't see each other often, unfortunately, so I facebook stalk. We call on occasion, and I listen. I pray that what comes out of my mouth will lead her to a deeper walk with Christ. I know my friendship with her has encouraged me to walk closer to Him.
I took a double take when I read my friend's questions, but I knew there were some members of her family that were homosexual, and I thought she was talking about them.
Feeling firm in my beliefs, I replied, "If it was someone near and dear to me, I would express that I love them dearly, but I would not attend. Chances are if they are near to me, they would know my personal beliefs."
A few weeks later, I saw this friend. We spent the evening chatting it up with another friend, and talking about everything in the universe. I asked her about her Facebook question, and then she dropped the bomb. She was engaged to another woman. My heart sank. My head spun. My face was flushed. I didn't even see it coming.
The hardest thing for me to hear was when she said, "I know you can quote me a thousand verses of Scripture about why you think this is wrong. I don't want to hear it."
So I listened.
She told me about her relationship. There were a lot of things that weren't healthy in this relationship, but she was blind to them. The lump in my throat was so big, I couldn't voice them. Fortunately, our other friend who was there did.
Later, when I pulled out of the driveway headed home, I cried and prayed. I didn't know what to do next. I asked God to help me be a friend to her. I grew up hearing the phrase, "You can hate the sin and love the sinner," meaning you can be against the actions and still love the person. I had even said that same phrase to other people when advising them, but I had really never had to deal with it in such a personal way. I had no idea how to show her love.
I asked God to help, and He did. He gave me chances to show her love in tangible ways without having to compromise my beliefs.
It's hard for me sometimes to watch her make choices in her life. For me, most of my life's choices are black and white because I believe the Bible cover to cover, and God is the ultimate authority in my life. There are a lot of gray areas in her life. I'm not sure if it's because she doesn't know the Scripture or if she doesn't want to believe it. I sense in her life that there's a power struggle about who's really in charge. So I pray for her. We don't see each other often, unfortunately, so I facebook stalk. We call on occasion, and I listen. I pray that what comes out of my mouth will lead her to a deeper walk with Christ. I know my friendship with her has encouraged me to walk closer to Him.
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