My 16-year-old son tells me that his school (an all-boys school) has a handful of students who have openly declared they are gay, bisexual or gender fluid. How should I handle this as a Christian parent, while showing that it is important to love all our neighbours?
Li Ping says
Dear Suzie,
First, discern why your son shared this with you. Is he troubled? Nonchalant? Curious? Supportive? Is he looking for advice on how to respond to his friends? With greater clarity about why he shared, you can then sensitively bring in your Christian convictions. This means showing love in a way that reflects God’s truth and compassion.
Truth is captured in our Methodist belief that gender and sexual expression within the bounds of a monogamous, male-female marriage are part of God’s good, original design. Same-sex attraction and gender confusion, however, are expressions of a creation distorted by sin.
Compassion is expressed in the assurance that God is nonetheless renewing the world through the cross of Christ. As such, we show Christian love to our neighbours by sharing about his love with them first, and not demanding that they follow our beliefs before that. Without compromising on our own beliefs, we continue to treat them with dignity and respect due to all people, since all are made in God’s image.
