In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus taught us to “Love God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind” and to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus also said those two commands were like one another. That implies that once we love our neighbor, we love God, and if we love God, we are going to love our neighbors. Jesus also said these two commands sum up the whole teaching of the scriptures. So, we will agree they’re deeply vital.
Yet, in relation to our LGTBQ+ neighbors, some Christians put up a wall and select not to like this population in the identical way we love ourselves. Some Christians inadvertently change into just like the Pharisees, using the guise of hypervigilant spirituality to maintain themselves from entering relationships of friendship and love. Still, there are others who desire to like this community well but don’t know quite the way to – perhaps out of fear, out of lack of proximity, or because they aren’t sure what to think or imagine.
Just like loving anyone, especially any group of historically marginalized people, our job is to like others without making any human being a political pawn. Our job is to like with dignity. Our job is to like all of God’s image-bearers without objectifying, demeaning, dismissing, or condemning. Our job is to like people towards Jesus and the Church as a substitute of turning them away. So how can we try this while honoring God and our own convictions throughout all?
Here are 7 Ls about loving your LGBTQ+ neighbors:
Photo Credit: Image created using DALL.E 2024 AI technology and subsequently edited and reviewed by our editorial team.
