God loves LGBTQ but doesn’t affirm their lifestyle

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I AM writing in response to a recent article published in The Gleaner headlined ‘We are not an enemy of the Church’. As a Christian and former member of the LGBTQ community, I am happy that more churches are accepting of members of the LGBTQ community. However, how genuine is this acceptance, and is it driven and supported by God’s love?

Jamaica has a history of treating the LGBTQ community with great disdain, and I hate to say it, but that response is also evident among members of the Church. In my own experience as a newly converted Christian back in 2014, members of my church community found it hard to accept that I was truly converted, as to suggest that the ’stain’ of homosexuality was too much for God to bear. If, as a Church, we are to truly welcome the community into our spaces, we must first learn to love in God’s way and understand that as humans, we don’t possess the power to convert humans or control the personal choices they make.

The Bible speaks of ‘agape’, a word specifically used to identify the type of love God embodies. Agape love is the highest level of love referenced in the Bible. This form of love is everlasting and sacrificial, whether or not the giver receives the same level of love in return. The word ‘agape’ is eloquently described by Paul in his famous passage on love:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

Though Christ is perfect and we are not, we must strive to love each other in this perfect way. “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8).

God loves the LGBTQ community, but does not affirm their lifestyle. The latter is not in our jurisdiction as Christians to rigidly enforce. The former, however, is a reality that many Christians need to accept. If we are to ever see true love and transformation flowing from the Church to the LGBTQ community, we must start there.

Homophobia and exclusion is not God’s response to the LGBTQ; love is. As a people, we don’t get to choose who gets that love according to the personal choices one makes. In Matthew 22:34-40, God reminds us of the greatest commandments in the law; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment, and the second says: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.

THE ANOINTED WRITER