A gay man sat in front of me in church today.
During pre-service, I listened to him pray fervently. During worship, I saw him enthusiastically join in. During preaching, I noticed that he was fully tuned in.
If you read this blog, you know that I am not sure that being gay and being Christian aren't possible. I have heard a lot of perspectives from both sides. I've heard that Bible translations have been interpreted anti-gay when they weren't actually meant to mean what we now think. On the other hand, I grew up hearing from the pulpit and from other Christians how horrible it was to be gay, how incredible a sin it was, how it's impossible for a person to be gay and be saved.
However, that's not the point of this post. I have only listened to the viewpoints of others. I've never researched it myself. Even if I did, there's a portion of anyone's interpretation of Scripture that is their opinion. How much is God's Word and how much is culture? Plus, even if being gay is a sin, is it really my place to judge someone else's actions? Isn't that the job of the Holy Spirit?
Back to this morning. What I saw brought up a question. Which is right? If praying fervently proves you are a Christian, then this man was a Christian. If being engaged in worship proves you are a Christian, then this man was a Christian. If tuning in fully to preaching proves you are a Christian, then this man was definitely a Christian.
On the flip side, however, what about those who might not pray fervently, might not engage in worship, might not fully tune into the sermon? If someone doesn't do those things, does that mean that he or she automatically isn't a Christian?
In other words, it was one of those tangible reminders that we can't know what's going on in someone's heart. Maybe, just maybe, we should let God do His job and we should worry more about Him changing us than Him "fixing" everyone else.
