This weekend is Pride Weekend in our city. I am reminded of our personal journey and am thankful for the way God has chosen to teach our family about love.
I use to have an incomplete way of thinking, limited by my experience. Then, one day, my world dramatically expanded and I began to see and think differently.
I realize that people may not think as I do about certain issues… and that’s okay. We are all limited by our experience. What isn’t okay is how people are often treated because they think differently. Persecution is never okay. The hurt becomes especially painful when the church is the perpetrator.
Our family was a member of the Evangelical church for twenty-five years. There were many wonderful things about the church; people, activities, training. But, there were also many issues that went unaddressed in the church that led one to believe that they were “non-issues”. My own personal journey made me realize that what I believed to be “non-issues”, were in fact, huge, and were intentionally unaddressed by the church.
I always believed that love was the ultimate foundation of the church but I experienced it to be otherwise. Our family was driven from the church because our son is gay. I thought our church was growing in its thinking but I was wrong. This personal assault inflicted deep wounds and I have many questions. Is the church a reflection of Jesus when it chooses who is worthy of being loved? If the church isn’t expressing love to all people than is it really fulfilling the purpose that Jesus intended? Must we think the same way about people and issues in order to worship together?
There are many churches that value the diversity of our world. They have put into practice the love of Jesus by embracing all people. Their doors are open to all…no conditions. There are no requirements to think the same way about other matters either.
It can be difficult when others think differently than we do. As much as I preach that we are all on our own journey and may not think the same way, I can become frustrated when people don’t understand my point of view. I am heartbroken when I see people treated unfairly or referred to unkindly because of who they are. It is especially difficult when people close to me make decisions that reveal a position that hurts those I love. My heart breaks at the thought of it.
BUT…I am called to love and to remember that we are all on the journey. God is not finished with this world and He wants so much more than we can ever see.
We live in an amazingly diverse world created by God. Celebrate diversity this week!!
Blessings,
Carol Marchant Gibbs
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