You go away on a houseboat for a week, come back home, turn on your computer and it’s like a paint factory sneezed all over Facebook.
Or something like that. Actually the graphic on my buddy Steve Heineman’s page expressed it best:
And i think enough has been said from either side of the rainbow for me to need to add anything specifically about that, although i definitely have some deep sadness for some of the christian response which seemed significantly compassion-free in places.
i did, however, respond with this line, which i hope people on both sides of the spectrum will seriously consider:
May whoever ends up being proven right not lose their rightness in the way that they respond and relate to whoever is proven wrong.
As a follower of Jesus i don’t know that we will know the absolute answer about whether or not we were right or wrong in the particular stance we took on this until one day when we are standing in front of God. But i’m pretty convinced that whether or not we responded in love will be quite obvious. And i’m fairly confident that God is less likely to be focusing on “You said it was okay to be gay” or “You said it was not okay to be gay” and more concerned with, “How well did you love those who thought differently to you?”
Cos that’s the greatest command, right? Love. Not good theology. And that is not saying that good theology is not worth pursuing and putting time and energy and effort into getting as right as we can. But it is saying that it is crucial that we major in love.
After all,
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
So, whether you agree or disagree or continue to wrestle with how you feel and what you think or believe, at least be kind. Can we all do that? Is it possible to disagree with someone and love them at the same time? i feel like Jesus was big on that.
“How well did you love those who thought differently to you?” wow, just wow. Thank you for this.
Thank you so much. Hope this is the message we can share around and try and major on. Everything else feels important but secondary. Thanks for stopping by, love brett fish
It is possible to disagree with someone and still love them.
It completely is, although more often on the internet and especially in the last two days it has been proved that it is more likely to happen the other way.
Thank you so much for this post! A friend of mine asked what I thought about this topic, and although I don’t this I can be convinced to change my profile picture, I did respond by saying something like, “I really don’t think I want to comment on whether its right or wrong for you to love who you love, when there are people being killed and children being hurt.” I think that our God is not taken by surprise, is still on the throne, is still all loving and most definitely good!
Thank you so much Kimmie and absolutely. Think God is absolutely not thrown by this stuff and will keep control of His kingdom, despite us. But definitely hear the sounds of Him calling for us to Love well, strongly in my ears…
Thanks for the words,
Love brett fish