REALLY love the sinner (by BRUCE REDMAN)

As I held Brad’s frail, yellowed hand, I realised that death was looming. He was restless and his blinded eyes flickered as he fought against the pain. The HIV virus had long since blown into full-on AIDS and his entire system was now slowly shutting down. He was ecstatic to know that we were with him there; he knew that we loved him. We usually shared a cheeky joke together and I had loved watching his eyes twinkle when he laughed. But this was not a time for laughter … I asked if I could pray with him. “I would love that,” he wheezed, “but you can’t do that, because I’m gay, and I haven’t prayed since I was a kid”. My heart broke. Through the emerging torrent of tears I choked out “God made you Brad, he loves you and his arms are open wide to welcome you home”. “I know Jesus”, he said, “but I’ve been away so far, for so long. Will he have me back?” We prayed together, my wife Anne, Brad’s partner David and me, tenderly cradling this weak, broken man and holding each other. The love of God surrounded us, filling that tiny hospice room. Brad relaxed and slowly drifted into unconsciousness, a peaceful smile on his lips. Within a couple of hours his fight was over. At that moment in time it wasn’t about what people choose to do with their body, Leviticus or Paul’s condemnations or the SA Orders and Regulations, it was about one of God’s own children, suffering, dying and wanting desperately to get right with him. Most of us have gay friends, relatives or work colleagues and some of us struggle with how we can “hate the sin and love the sinner” when it comes to homosexuality. Sometimes in the hysteria, prejudice and piety we can forget about the God-created person involved - someone with a heart and soul who needs Jesus.

As salvos we are normally pretty good about that, but when we face something or someone we don’t understand because of a lack of experience or previous knowledge it’s human nature to cling to other precepts or respond to the most rowdy voices. I get so very cranky when I see nominal “Christians” waving placards that emphatically state “God hates Gays” and just wish that those concerned had the guts to come out and say “I hate Gays” rather than using God to justify their own dislikes and distastes. John 13: 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. We have to remember first and foremost that this “new commandment” means we have to love everyone without discrimination. We are all so much more than a man or a woman or old or young or a mechanic or a doctor or a prostitute or a father or a wife or a sister or an addict or disabled or criminal or gay or straight or Muslim or Atheist or Christian. These labels may make us look really complicated but in fact we are simply all children of God, living on planet Earth, who can have a relationship with our Creator through his son Jesus Christ. And we are ALL sinners. Let’s concentrate on what unites us rather than what divides us and start to love ALL sinners as we love the sinner that is ourselves. John 3: 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. (New Living Translation)