Gay marriage is rocking my christian world!

This post has been fumbling around in my head for a few days now.  Trying to wrap my mind around what exactly is happening in my heart and in my mind has been tough.  Tough in an amazing way!  There's so much talk about the gay marriage issue and a few weeks back a Facebook friend of mine posted this video from youtube and for the life of me I cannot find it to share here a HUGE thank you to Jessica Goodman for helping me track it down on Facebook, here it is.  Sorry it's kind of lengthy (just under 20 minutes) but it is so worth the time and will really make you think:

And for some reason I can't get the video to post on here so here's the link to watch it on youtube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySkB30rf5Ao

And then another friend of mine posted this video yesterday that also made me start to think!

God's Word says that above all else we are to love one another as Christ loves us.  How does He love us?  Unconditionally and sacrificially!  I know the bible says that homosexuality is a sin.  I get that.  But how does God want me to treat the gays?  With unconditional love!  My mind is still all over the place on this whole subject but I'm really having to stop and pray and really dig into the Word and wrestle some things out with God about how I show that unconditional love.  It's not a secret that the gay community feels rejected, judged, condemned, unloved, and even hated by christians and THAT is not of Jesus!!!!  So today as I sat down to have my quiet time with the Lord I stared at my various bible study books and packets that I'm working on with different bible study groups but I really felt the Lord calling me away with just Him!  No other books to tell me what to think or try to explain it to me the way the Lord has spoken to them about things but to get raw and real with the Lord.  I've always felt that I'm not smart enough to understand God's Word without a little help from my study notes or commentaries from pastors that I look up to but God reminded me that wisdom comes from Him and He will give me all the understanding I need.  

I'm on a mission to really dig into the New Testament especially the gospels to really dig in there and see Jesus! 

 I want to see how Jesus treated people caught in sin.  As I started digging in I was reminded that throughout the gospel Jesus is hanging with the sinners, the rejected, the hurting, the lost...obviously He must have been loving and kind and compassionate to them or they would have RUN from Him.  I know when I feel unaccepted for who I am I stay away from those people.  The ones Jesus focused his harsh words on were the religious people!  The ones that were judgmental, condemning, hateful, legalistic, etc.  I want to be like Jesus!  I want people to feel love and accepted when they are around me.  Love & acceptance doesn't mean I fully support someone in whatever sin they are in but it means loving them regardless of what they are struggling with and coming alongside of them in non-judgment.  I made it through the first 2 chapters of Matthew before I had to stop because I'd already been sitting there for almost an hour!  :)

What did I learn in those first 2 chapters?  Jesus came to be a shepherd.

What does a shepherd do?  A shepherd guides, protects and cares for his flock.  He goes after those that wander away or get lost.  He protects them from harm.  He comforts the scared and hurting.  He bandages up the wounds.  He firmly and lovingly disciplines when the sheep start to wander into danger.

We need to be more like shepherds and less like wolves!

My journey into really looking at Jesus is going to take quite a bit of time but my prayer is to become more and more like Jesus and a whole lot less like the religious people!!!