“Jesus Hearts Gays”

A friend of mine loves gay men … most of the gay men she’s met are sweet and funny and she’s drawn to them. She someday hopes to establish a ministry that reaches out to and gets to know and shows love to gay people.

Can I just say that’s so Jesus to me?

So my friend and I were talking about gay guys and she asked, how can we say it’s wrong in such a loving way that we won’t anger or crush them? (Referring to church, not individual conversations.) And you know, I think the answer is we don’t. We don’t say anything.

Instead, I think we try something new … befriending those who are different from us, getting to know them and loving them as individuals important to God. We’ve tried all sorts of talk. Let’s now try some quiet love in action.

It reminds me of the story about when the local church leaders (the pastors and elders and deacons) noticed this new preacher in town who, instead of “preaching the Bible” about homosexuality, showed up at parties thrown by gay guys. He went out dinner with them and generally acted like their friend instead of their judge. Somehow I don’t think he worked “you know, homosexuality is wrong” into his conversations at the dinner parties. Obviously, the rest of the pastors were upset by this “hippie love” behavior and called the pastor on it.

He said a crazy thing. I mean, this guy was out there. He said, “Go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices (Hosea 6:6).’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who are sinners.” That’s from Matthew 9:13 and I gotta say, most of us church people are not Jesus in this story. We’re the Pharisees, slightly scandalized and helpless when see peeps ministering in real love to those we consider too far outside the grace of God.