I don't know your Jesus

Jared, if you are truly following Jesus Christ, then you should repent of homosexual behavior and follow SEXUAL PURITY. If you aren't following Jesus Christ, then do whatever you desire. Kind Regards, ___

I never replied to that message. In fact, I "archived" it, meaning I attempted to delete it and Facebook said it was archived, so I could still bring it up, but it wouldn't be in my regular message listing.

What does being a Christian mean? According to its Greek origin as a word, it means "Follower of Christ."

Okay, so someone who follows the teachings of Christ? And what did Christ teach?

Love. Repeatedly throughout the Gospels, Jesus rarely condemns anyone. He mentions a final judgement, but He makes clear that this is done by God, His Father, not Himself. Right down to the end of Jesus' story, He practices love for everyone, even the people nailing Him to a cross to have Him die a gruesome and painful death, even praying "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

And those words seem to sum up mainstream Christianity very well. Christians don't know what they're doing.

I posted on Facebook and Twitter today about how people call president Obama the Antichrist and how his newly-revealed stance in favor of gay marriage is likely going to make people reiterate that statement.

However, I pointed out that the way mainstream Christians act, the Antichrist is actually looking like a good thing. "American Christians by their actions in the name of Christ say that Jesus was into favoritism, and hated people that didn't agree with his actions," I posted. Antifavoritism and antihate would be nice.

I went to church for over 20 years. I heard the message that "your actions reflect Jesus" many many times. It's even the concept of that "What Would Jesus Do?" craze. The thing is, while Jesus, according to the Gospels, had no limit to His love, his self-proclaimed "followers" are making limits. I understand being human and reaching your limits, but this isn't the same thing. The people who taught me those things are the first ones to shun and condemn gay people. Way to follow Matthew 7, people.

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

The best Bible student I know (my mother, who has made the effort to display love to people who drink, smoke, and are of differing sexual orientation) explained to me that "judge" in this context means "criticize and condemn." This is the words of Jesus, the basis of Christianity, yet it seems so hard for people who call themselves Christians to follow. Frankly, I've seen people who claim to be atheists who are better at following this.

The man who sent me that message basically told me that if I was gay, I shouldn't be a Christian. If the belief of Christians is that anyone who does anything you don't agree with is unworthy of God's love, then maybe I don't want to be one. At least, not by this definition.

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." — John 15:12

I think I'd rather live by this commandment of Jesus rather than trying to hold everyone to my criteria.