You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. [2 Corinthians 3:2-3, NRSV]
I once attended a rally which was a conglomeration of LGBT advocacy groups in my town. As I got to know people better over finger food, I struck up a conversation with a young woman who asked me the usual question: "So, what do you do for a living?" When I told her I was a pastor, her eyes got REALLY wide and I could tell it was a tender subject for her. After her initial panic, she smiled a few seconds later and then gave me a big hug. "It means SO much to me that you're here!" As our conversation continued, she shared with me the story of how she was rejected by her church and how much it meant to her to know that a pastor would care enough to come to a gathering like this one.
The reason why I share this story is that it reminds us that we never know when we are being a letter from Christ. It might be at a political rally, at the grocery store or even at the local dance club. We who are Christian and LGBT need to be committed to sharing God's love with those who have been rejected by the church. They need to know that God still loves them even though some Christians do not. Some of our brothers and sisters are VERY hesitant to enter the door of a church or talk about their spirituality. Perhaps our smiles, hugs and words of welcome will help to begin the healing process they long for in their lives.
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