What would Jesus do? He would love first
Taleya Jordan, junior music major, walks into the Southeastern Wesley for the first Queer Communion meeting on Oct. 6. Jordan created Queer Communion and leads the bible study meetings every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. to foster a welcoming environment for queer Christians.
I am a Christian. It is an essential and primary aspect of my identity.
I fully recognize that not everyone identifies that way, but I still know and believe that everyone is loved by God.
Unfortunately, there is a seemingly growing divide between Christians and the LGBTQIA+ community as well as between Christians who seek to love and accept them and Christians who do not.
The thing is, part of the life of a Christian includes loving your enemy – loving those who hurt you, those who you dislike, those who make you feel uncomfortable, those who you don’t agree with. It is our responsibility, more so than those who do not yet know God, to be the ones who love others with an open heart and an open mind. It is our job to try to bridge the divide.
I believe that as a whole, the Church has not done a good job of effectively and compassionately communicating with the LGBTQIA+ community. Frankly, that is probably clear to most people. The solution is simple, but it is something we have not yet fully grasped.
As Christians, our goal is to get to Heaven, and the more people we help to get there along the way the better. We should be trying to make genuine connections with others. We should be holy, trustworthy people who spread love and bring others to Jesus.
Yes, along the way we should be educating others about the dangers of sin (all sin – not just capitalizing on some more than others), but that doesn’t make us entitled. That doesn’t give anyone the right to be hateful or discriminatory. We shouldn’t make the mistake of pushing others away from God in our harsh attempts to help them understand scripture.
Too often I hear stories about individuals breaking off from the faith because the church hurt them. The church failed them. I refuse to be someone who causes pain or who ostracizes individuals simply because of something that is a part of their identity. My entire life I was taught to be loving and welcoming because that is what Jesus would do. He would love first.
We should be communicating with respect, which should be able to flow to and from both directions. We live in a nation of religious liberty – among many other freedoms – which is a beautiful thing that allows us to choose and act upon our faith as we please. If we expect respect for our choices from others, we must put the hypocrisy aside and put forth that same respect.
Look into yourself before judging others. Take that log out of your own eye and just be a loving example of Christ before deciding to condemn.
I believe in the everlasting love of God no matter what anyone else, Christian or not, tells me. So Christians, love first. Make connections first. Be a light of Jesus first and foremost. Then, dive deeper into the conversations that can open the minds and hearts of all parties involved.
There are so many more things that I could have addressed here, but I have to let it all boil down to this: What would Jesus do? He would love first.
I want to be the kind, welcoming example that changes people’s minds about the faith. My fellow Christians, I encourage you to do the same.
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Brynn Lundy Arriago began working for The Lion's Roar in the fall of 2019, her first semester at Southeastern, and now serves as Graduate Assistant. From...
Sarah • Dec 23, 2022 at 5:17 pm
Our goal as Christians is not to get into heaven! That is only a byproduct, that is a gift! Our goal as Christians is to preach to Gospel, the good news, which is, if we repent (turn from) of our sins and place our faith in Jesus Christs finished works as He paid the penalty for our sins, a debt we could never pay (“for the wages of sin is death” -Romans 6:23). This is only possibly by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are called to die to self, pick up our cross, and follow Jesus Christ. Christ even warns people to not follow Him if they cannot do this, He tells them to count the cost first (Luke 14:26-33). We are all as sinners under Gods Wrath and Judgement and without Christ we have no hope for we all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God (Roman 3:23). Through our faith and belief in Jesus Christ, we become new creations, being reborn, becoming children of the Most High God (John 3:2, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 3:26, Isaiah 65:17). We are no longer in a hostile relationship with God but a peaceful one (Romans 5:1, Job 22:21, Colossians 1:20, Isaiah 27:5). We are now and only now, a light to those in the darkness (Matthew 5:13-16, John 8:12). The Gospel is not to believe in Christ to get into heaven, this is not the Gospel Jesus taught. I pray the writer of this article revises this article and learns to cling tightly to the Word of God. Be blessed.
Melinda Holloway • Oct 12, 2021 at 6:35 pm
From one Christian to another I appreciate the compassion you show towards the LGBTQIA+ community. They have not been treated well in most churches, especially by those in the conservative evangelical church. It is probably because of an historical intolerance of anything that has traditionally been interpreted as sin. For instance conservative Christians supported prohibition and considered drinking alcohol as a sin. But there is no prohibition in the Bible making it a sin — only getting drunk. Likewise card playing, movie watching, and dancing have all been condemned by conservative Christians as sin, but without biblical support. But as someone who has been attracted to the same sex since I was a young teenager, and was raised in a conservative evangelical church, I had to search the scriptures myself to see if what I was feeling was actually a sin. Because as a Christian, I wanted to honor God with my life and my body. I had to search alone and educate myself as there was no one in the church I felt comfortable telling about my situation. Happily I did come to a greater knowledge of scripture and I also gained a wealth of encouragement from other Christians who were attracted to the same sex and how they reconciled their faith with their feelings. What I discovered was that God saved me as I was. But through a very close relationship with Jesus Christ, He would begin transforming me more and more into His image. Even though homosexual acts are condemned in scripture, my thoughts are less easily controlled. But when homosexual thoughts and temptations come, I take those thoughts captive and bring them under control of Christ. Over time those temptations and thoughts have faded into a distant memory. I turned my homosexual life over to Jesus Christ thirty years ago. And He has blessed my life immensely since then. I would challenge other LGBTQIA+ Christians to study sound doctrine regarding this subject and not adhere to revisionist theology that tries to reason away the scriptures that validate homosexual acts as sin. This is a hard and controversial topic, but I would be willing to discuss this with anyone who would like to converse about it in a loving and conversational way.
Britt Williams • Oct 20, 2021 at 6:38 pm
“Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” -Romans 1:24-32
“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind (homosexuals), Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” -1 Corinthians 6:9-11
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” -Gal 5:19-21
“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” -1 John 5:3
elijah sky arriago • Oct 12, 2021 at 5:07 pm
AMEN HALLELUJAH!
carrie benitez • Oct 12, 2021 at 11:25 am
this made me so happy to see!! thank you for sharing this!