Hello Healingwaters...!I do believe that Christians should play a vocal role in politics. I also agree that Christians should do more to reach out with the love of God to all people. Aa an undergraduate, a classmate of mine had a roommate who was a homosexual. He was not a flagrant "in-your-face" homosexual (like some activists at my school), but he did not hide his lifestyle either. He could often be seen walking across the campus, holding hands with his boyfriend(s). One day, my classmate, a couple of church friends and I were eating lunch in the main school cafeteria. This classmate and I were discussing an engineering project that we were both involved with. After a little while, his roommate walked up and sat down to dine at our table. As this young man sat down at the table, I introduced myself and shook hands with him. My friends from the church, however, made excuses that they were late for class, and abruptly (and rather awkwardly) left. This classmate and I were discussing our project, while this young man sat quietly listening and eating. My classmate had an after-lunch class, so he left just before his class began. I stayed to finish my lunch, and I remained sitting with his roommate. We talked about a few things (mainly, how terrible the food was getting in the cafeteria). Suddenly this young man asked, "Aren't you a christian?" I was caught off-guard by his remarks. "Well, yes I am." He went on to say that he has seen me pray for my food in the cafeteria, place evangelical "poster-tracts" on several of the University message boards, and worship using my acoustic guitar outside on the University grounds. I smiled and told him, "Well, I didn't realize that it was quite so noticable." He then awkwardly asked me, "Well, you know that I'm gay?" At first, I was caught off-guard by his comments. I replied, "Yes, I do." "And you are still going to eat lunch with me?" he asked. I told him that I had no problem with eating with him. He told me, "I thought that you would have a problem with homosexuals." It was a very awkward moment. I smiled and told him that, while the Bible is clear that homosexuality is a sin, it is no more sinful than adultery or fornication. I said that while Hell is a penalty for sin, any sin would take us there. I went on to tell him that the greatest sin in the world is the neglect of God and the sacrifice of his Son by the very people He created to fellowship with. I explained that Jesus loves him -- despite of his sin. I explained the plan of salvation to him as I would to any person. After our conversation, he thanked me for being kind. We walked out of the cafeteria and went our seperate ways. That evening, he sat down at my table in the cafeteria to eat again. Again, my church friends abruptly left again. Over the next few weeks, this young man ate with me regularly. I began to notice that he would bow his head when I gave thanks for the food. Yet I also noticed that my church friends began sitting elsewhere during meals. One day, I was confronted by a couple of church friends. One guy asked me how I could knowingly sit with a homosexual? I became quite flushed with anger by the question. I told him, "Well, I have been sitting with you and you openly gossip nearly everyday!" I apologized for saying this, and explained, "Look -- homosexuality is wrong. But how can we reach out to them with the truth if we never reach out to them?" As time went on, my church "friends" (who lived quite "loose" christian lives) began to tell others that I was not being a "good witness" at school by eating with such people. They accused me of being "soft on sin." Even my pastor approached me about this. He told me that my conduct at school reflected on the Church, other Christians and on Christ himself. At first, their comments bothered me. But then I started realizing that I should not be ashamed for reaching out to anyone. I continued eating in the cafeteria, and would welcome this guy anytime he wanted to sit and talk. We talked about alot of things, and hardly ever mentioned homosexuality. We actually talked about the Bible and God very often, with this young man bringing up the subject most of the time. Eventually, I stopped eating in the cafeteria (the food was rather awful), and so I seldom saw this guy anymore. I did see him around campus from time-to-time, and I would greet him whenever I saw him.Less than a year ago, I didn't have time to grab a bite to eat off-campus, so I went to the cafeteria. I noticed this young man sitting with a girl in the cafeteria. I sat down beside them and they both greeted me. He introduced her as his girlfriend. Over the course of the conversation, he told me that they had met in church. I was quite surprised that he was even going to church. He turned to his girlfriend and told her that I was the person who introduced him to Jesus. I was very surprised, and told them congratulations on their courtship. Before I left, they invited me to attend a Bible study in her parents' home. I've often wondered what would have happened had I not sat with this young man. I didn't realize that our lunches and dinners were so important. I never prayed with him (other than for our food). He did ask me to pray for a few needs that he had, but I always did that alone in private. Looking back, I am actually happy to have endured some of the gossip for the sake of this young man's soul. It is so sad that many people in the Church neglect people because of sin. I've seen people tossed out of churches because of sin (such as sexual immorality), or even because of rumors of such sin. Yet I have never seen this hatred for sin applied to "lower sins" (like gossip, lying, backbiting, etc...). It seems that there is quite a bit of self-righteousness applied in many churches. A young man was thrown out of a church that I attended for getting his girlfriend pregnant (who happened to be the daughter of an elder in our church). The leadership of the church warned people to stay away from the young man. Of course, the young lady is received with open arms. The young man is now at "wit's end" because he was rejected by the very people who should have received him with forgiving arms! He had admitted and repented of his sin, but that wasn't quite good enough for the church. It appears that the church didn't want to be perceived as being "soft on sin."God help us to love all people -- and reach out to them with the love of Christ!
