Does God Hate Homosexuals?

I hope that as you read the title your mind came up with a resounding no, because that is the truth. However there are those out there, where perhaps they admit God does not hate them, they think that he is especially angry with them.

I have had the opportunity to minister to a few dozen gays over the years and the relationship has always followed a similar pattern. We meet and they find out I am a minister, and they are cautious because they have heard so many that call themselves christians spout bigoted and ignorant things that were truly hateful. Some have been kicked out of their families and not allowed to return home for Christmas because their lifestyles are “sinful”. All have had bad experiences with people who found them as less than. All they know about me is that I am a Christian, and they know how christians have treated them in the past.

I, knowing the abuse they have undergone, never bring up their sexual orientation. Some have tried not to tell me they were gay. But I knew when they had trouble with pronouns and their boyfriends or girlfriends. I do my best to love them unconditionally, the way Jesus would. Eventually it is come out of the closet time. “You know Scott, I’m gay.” This is the fun part for me because I get to smile and say “I know, and I want you to know I never want that to get in the way of our friendship.”

At this point they want to know what I think of it and they ask something like, “do you think it is a sin.”

At this point I have been friends for awhile and they trust me. I am different from other “christians” they have known. For one I treated them with respect. I reply “John Doe, :-) I believe God loves you and he has a plan for your life. When I read the Bible I see that that plan is a heterosexual plan. Homosexuality is taught to be a sin in scripture but so is having sex with your girlfriend before you are married. I don’t think it is fair to single out being gay as a worse sin than any other. We are all sinners desperately in need of Jesus. I don’t have all the answers and I hope this will never get in the way of our friendship.”

I have had that talk dozens of times and I have never offended the person I have been talking to. I am not saying that they will never be offended but it has not happened yet.

There are people in my life who are gay. I want to do all I can to represent a Jesus that loves them completely and made the way for all of us to know him.