No Designer Labels

Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ. [Colossians 3:10-11, The Message]

Labels are meant for clothing NOT for people. This is one of my mantras and I'm sticking with it! One of my biggest frustrations in life [perhaps it is frustrating to you, too] is that when some people know that I am gay, it is the only way they see me. Instantly, they place a set of assumptions on me that usually aren't the least bit true such as I'm a heathen, a pervert, someone who is going to hell, etc. It drives me crazy!

Someone wrote me a note about a year ago and told me they believed I couldn't be gay and be a Christian. Somehow, in their mind, these two things are mutually exclusive. Last time I checked, the only criterion for being a Christian is faith in Jesus. John 3:16, that popular scripture verse that is often seen painted on someone's chest at a football game, tell us that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." Notice, it doesn't say you have to be heterosexual, or a Republican, or someone who only reads the King James version of the Bible. Faith in Jesus is the only thing that is necessary. Therefore, do not let anyone attach labels to you. Let your life be "defined by Christ" and know that you are most definitely included in God's family.