Gay Pride Parade

Where has the sanity gone? I'm sorry folks, but those of us in the evangelical community are losing it! Yes, that's those of us who call ourselves Christians. Apparently Abbotsford has approved a gay pride parade for our city. OK, I'm not in favor of homosexuality, I don't want a gay pride parade, but we're reacting as if all hope is lost. I'm reading the Letters to the Editor in The Abbotsford News and all we're doing is playing right into the hands of the homosexual community. They're accusing us of preaching hate, holding onto fear and being homophobic, all the while they're celebrating diversity, openness and acceptance! While that's the biggest bunch of rot I've ever heard, the truth is we are trying to make our case in the court of public opinion when we should be making our case through love in action!





Hear me loud and clear... Fellow brothers and sister in Christ, we're not going to win a public debate on whether or not there should be a gay pride parade in Abbotsford, or any other place! Let's get that through our heads.





So, what do we do? Folks, we live in a democracy, which by the way is not found in the Bible, and in such a system of government people are free to speak their opinions and hold gay pride parades. In previous posting I have defended the right of Pastor Stephen Boission to speak his mind when the Alberta Human Rights Commission wanted to take away his freedom to speak on the subject. I will never willingly give up the right to preach truth, to preach what the Bible teaches and to advocate for the Lordship of Jesus Christ. There comes a point, though, when it becomes apparent that the time for public discourse is over and the time for a new front on godlessness has arrived. That time is now!





Let's quit with the rhetoric and the lambasting of the homosexual community and begin by cleaning our own house! What's that you say? Yeah, you heard me right. The problem we have in the eyes of the world is that our words are not matching up with our witness. There are too many of us Christians who say one thing and do another. Step number 1 in this new front on godlessness, let's starting living like Jesus taught us to live. Let's begin with loving one another as He loved us. Let's continue with honoring one another and living in harmony with one another. Let's go above and beyond by living generously and joyfully. Let's give of ourselves, our time and our money. Here's a thought, let us pursue righteousness, holiness, purity and godliness in our own lives, in our own churches, homes, businesses and relationships. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church. Wives, honor your husbands as unto the Lord. Fathers, don't infuriate your children. Children, honor your fathers and mothers. Let's quit running down those who we don't agree with and start living as Jesus called us to live. Let's run business that first and foremost honor Jesus Christ. Let's make every effort to care for those who are in need. Let's make it our priority to live peaceably with all. Don't appease the homosexual community, but rather out live them, out love them and out care them.





Step number 2, rather than running around like Chicken Little and acting as if the sky is falling, let's start figuring out how we might minister to the homosexual community! I know, some of you are thinking I'm off my rocker... hey, I've been put down by far worse people than you! (that's supposed to be an attempt at humour) First, the sky isn't falling! This is what happens in a democracy. We make room for opposing views. The one thing we must never surrender is our right to speak. The fact we must face, though, is no one wants to hear our views when it comes to homosexuality. So, now we have to approach things from a slightly different prospective. I'm throwing this one out there for your humble consideration, but what would happen if instead of protesting the gay pride parade we showed up and tried to minister to the gay community unconditionally, without an agenda and with the love of Jesus. See, I have a sneaking suspicion that they really don't care what we say, they're going to go ahead and do what they want without hesitation and with great glee at our discomfort. But what would happen if all of a sudden we didn't act the way they think we're going to act, if we didn't respond to their hatred and bigotry the way they respond to us? What if instead of bashing them we tried to love them with the love of Jesus? I'm not sure how that looks, but here's a thought... I have a friend who loves Jesus, he's a godly man, and a Chiropractor who goes oversees and treats people who might not get Chiropractic help. What if people like him were available to help the marchers at the gay pride parade. Here's another thought... every year we celebrate Love Abbotsford! What would you think about having people available to hand out free cokes and water? Or, to give out free hot dogs and chips? I don't know, but that would be different. It's certainly better than the gay activists who interrupted church services in Michigan and it would definitely be different than what the homosexual community would expect from us Christians.





Yeah, there is a culture war that is taking place in our country. Guess what! We're losing it. So, let's go back and take our cues from Jesus. Let's make sure our own house is in order and then let's feed those who hate us, let's give them something to drink and let's love them with the love of Jesus!