My aim in today’s daily is not to make any moral judgements about the following sexuality issues. My goal is to remind each of us to first prioritize the greatest commandment according to Jesus. That is to love the Lord our God and love our neighbor as ourselves. As a follower of Jesus we must learn to interact with each person we encounter as a valuable, God-created, God-loved human being. When we choose to acknowledge the complexities of human experience we respond to people in more loving and gentle ways. It would be much easier for us to treat this subject as a black and white issue but that doesn’t account for the complexity of human experience. Let us proceed with caution and love. As you read the following case studies I challenge you to ask yourself one question. What does love demand in this situation?

At birth, the child was healthy but there were a few abnormalities. This child had signs of both genders. One of the the genders seemed more obvious and so the doctors performed a minor procedure to clarify the gender and it was finished. But it wasn’t finished for this child. From a very young age she felt different than the other girls around her. She grew up loving Jesus and following Jesus but same sex attraction was a real part of her life. She was taught that homosexuality was wrong and was a sin. The internal battle raged in her so strongly that suicide crept into her mind over and over. Suicide seemed welcome as she attempted to escape the longings she couldn’t deny while she was maintained her faith in Jesus.

As soon as the national gay marriage laws changed they got married. It felt affirming to their relationship. They soon adopted a young boy and began living as a family. As they journeyed through life, they eventually both embraced Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. Their new faith added so much complexity to this little family’s lives. They began to attend a local church where they seemed to be relatively welcome. As they grew in their faith they began to wonder what they should do about their relationship. Was their marriage void in the eyes of God? Were they living in sin? Would God rather have them divorce each other than to continue in this relationship? If the answer was yes to that, how would they continue to care for their child? They loved each other, they loved their son, and they loved Jesus. Which relationship should they sacrifice? What would Jesus have them do?

He was abused as a child by a neighborhood man. It was horrific and long lasting. By the time his family moved away from his abuser, the damage had been done. This boy was emotionally and mentally scarred for life. Would he have become homosexual himself if he had not been abused? He didn’t know. The statistics he had read indicated that he was not unlike many other people who had been abused as a child. Did he choose this life or did his attacker choose it for him? He didn’t know but now, it was his life and how should he live it well?

As you read these examples you may begin to see the complexity of this issue. Again, let us as believers ask ourselves what love demands of us. Let us never fail to hear the stories of people before making sweeping moral statements. Let us trust the guiding hand of Jesus to lead each of us from our brokenness into healing and let us trust Jesus to do that on his time table.

By Aaron Bjorklund

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