If you don’t who will?
Who is going to protect our gay and transgender child if we don’t? Who will offer them a safe place to be themselves, without artificial scorn or ridicule for being themselves? Who will foster an environment of growth and freedom in Jesus, the real & living God, not shame and depression from a false, legal version of God?
Many have spouses/ex’s that refuse to admit their kid is gay, so the burden is fully on the other parent. You are the one parent in the equation who refuses to give up on our child, no matter what they look like or sound like. You will stand by them, as the sole parent in the household to do so. But you will not allow them to walk this path alone. You would rather be alone and question everything than make our child deal with the depression and isolation.
If you don’t provide for them, who will?
You want to provide a safe place for them to be themselves. You want to see them smile as they attend the Homecoming dance, with a date that’s the same sex as they are. You would rather personally absorb the social embarrassment of having a male-born child want to wear a dress to Prom to see the smile on her face, rather than put on the facade of parental smoothness while our child is terribly depressed wearing a suit to Prom…if he goes at all. You don’t want to see our kids deflated, we want to see them thrive, no matter what they are wearing or who they are dating.
If you don’t provide an example of Jesus’ love, who will?
Can we afford any longer to just put our kids in Sunday school and expect everything will be OK with their faith in God? Can we allow ourselves to have our kids taught by well-meaning Sunday school teachers who say false things like “Gay people are going to hell”…then watch our kids sink back into silent depression and misery because they lose all hope from that point forward?
You are the living examples for them to attach to Christ. It will take years. Our kids have seen negativity thrown at them at high rates and it will take years to untangle the mess.
If you don’t love them, who will?
Our gay/trans children want to be accepted for who they are, in Christ. They want to know the God of the universe doesn’t hate them, like they hear from many adults and of course, kids in school. Of course God doesn’t hate them, He’s only asking one thing of them…to have faith in Him thru Jesus. The church that demands outward change as proof one has suddenly stopped being a sinner…such as becoming ex-gay or ex-trans, makes the line in the sand between who’s accepted in their Sunday services and who isn’t.
The church that demands this sort of ‘proof’ is wrong. Yet they insist on this point time & time again, without mercy nor grace. And we continue to see kids commit suicide due to parental rejection, church rejection…all the while the kids are labled as “delusional” and the parents and leaders of their churches are given a free pass. Little wonder why kids have an anti-God attitude these days.
This isn’t the way of Jesus. Jesus brings life, healing, restoration no matter if one is gay, straight, transgender. Or thin, overweight, tall, short, has ALS or not.
God’s restoration rarely looks like we expect.
Come to think of it, why don’t these demanding churches make the same burden of proof claims for ALS patients? Many were brought to Christ after they realized they had ALS. Thus, according to this proof-doctrine of these demanding churches, the ALS patient should be healed and walk from their wheel chair! “Prove to us with an outward sign that you’re healed! God says so in the bible!”
Of course not. God doesn’t heal these sorts of things in outward ways, God works through the heart, not necessarily the flesh.
The same with gay/trans kids. Remember, the tax collector Jesus spent time with was still a tax collector after Jesus departed. We assume the tax collector’s heart changed, but he didn’t stop being a lowly, scoffed-at tax collector.
1 Sam 16:7 “The Lord looks at the heart while man judges by outward appearance.”
These demand-proof churches are in and of the world. Not in and of the Father’s heart. Our kids can sense that, thus they reject all things church and God. Can you blame them?
God’s healings & miracles come from the Holy Spirit flowing from within the person as an outward sign. I watched my wither away and die of ALS. He had more outpouring of the Holy Spirit than any single person I’ve ever seen. He affected many inside and outside his church by God moving thru him…all while being stuck to a wheel chair, slumped over and unable to talk.
THAT’S proof of God’s work in someone’s life. THAT’s how God works.
Someone doesn’t become ex-ALS. Just ask any ALS patient.