For the love of life...

So, the last few days have had me thinking about life, and the lives of others, and I have been thinking, specifically, about gay people.

Gays are looked at in a way that is completely unnecessary and untrue. They are treated as though they were given a choice to be gay, when, in most cases, that is not true. I have known quite a few people who were gay, lesbian, bisexual, or whatever, and every single one of them has been a good friend to me, and to judge them because of their sexual orientation is wrong, and completely ungodly.

If I remember correctly, God called us all to love. Love like Jesus loved, and live like Jesus lived. Do you think Jesus went around and bashed gays? Do you think Jesus protested gay funerals and went around the country showing how much God hates people?

The Jesus I know wouldn't do something like that. The Jesus I know condemns the sin, not the sinner. Jesus was an amazing man, and I cannot imagine for a second that he lived his life bringing people down.

If I am pissing you off, than I'm glad I am. Some changes need to be made in your perspective if I am.

I've never been the type to tell people what is right and what is wrong. I'm not the kind of person who will tell you that you are wrong, and I am right. However, this is something I am passionate about. We are called, as Christians, to love all who we come in contact with, no matter what they've done. Jesus did the same. I feel like, many times, as Christians, we pull people down, condemning them for their sin. Or their sexuality. Or their past.

We are called to build people up. God doesn't pull people down. God doesn't lead people into downward spirals eventually ending in Suicide.

I had a friend who recently committed suicide. He was bisexual, and he went through a lot in his life. He struggled with his identity, always searching for the truth in life and in the world. He spent the life he lived trying to identify the truth about our world, trying to find what was right and what was true. Trying to find who it was that would be accepting and who it was that would be condemning.

I happen to know for a fact that, in Christianity, he found condemnation. Many people do. That is why, when you look at statistics today, you find that a mere 4% of my generation is Christian. It's because Christians are very condemning and judgmental people. If I hadn't found Jesus myself, apart from the condemnation, I would easily have fallen away a long time ago. People hurt people, I've learned, and this is what causes peoples pain and suffering and, ultimately, their demise.

Tyler, my friend who died, was an amazing person. He was brilliant, and he would have been an asset to God's kingdom. If only he hadn't found pain in something that should have screamed love.

I devote my life to two things.

The real, loving God, and showing that He is Love. Not condemnation.

For all who I have wronged in my past, I apologize. If i have ever lead you to believe anything else about God, then I have lead you incorrectly. God is none but Love. He is not condemning, he builds up. He shows his love in our lives by giving us friends and family, and nature to enjoy, and people to love.

My prayer is that every Christian you ever run into will emanate love, not hatred. My prayer is that, for as long as I live, Love is my religion. I will not claim Christianity. Only God, and the love that comes with Him.

Rest peacefully, dear TJ. You were an amazing man, and I wish I could have spent more time with you in the end. God loves you, and I hope you knew that.