Second, Pride Month is an opportunity for followers of Jesus to recognize their own sexual sins. “We are all sexually broken,” said Bunt. “We all experience sexual desires that seek to draw us away from God’s good plan. This is true of every adult human that has ever lived – with the one important exception of Jesus.”
Recognizing this truth should eliminate any inclination Christians might have toward condemning people who have different sexual struggles than they do. Said Bunt, “We have no basis on which to claim to be better than anyone else. And strikingly, the one person for whom this is not true, the one person who never sinned sexually and could legitimately have stood in judgement over others, exhibited the most incredible love and humility when he interacted with sexual sinners (see John 4:7-29 and 8:1-11).”
Finally, Bunt exhorts believers to consider that, had they been born in different circumstances, they could very well be in the exact situation as those they are tempted to condemn. “Why am I not embracing my sexuality as my identity?” he asked. “Why am I not hooking up with loads of guys or living in a same-sex marriage? Why am I not looking for satisfaction in the wrong places and rejecting God’s plan? Because of Christ, because of his love, his grace, his action. It’s got nothing to do with me.”
Further resources on this topic, see the LGBTQ and the Church Podcast Series: A Conversation We Need to Have, which features interviews with leaders including Dr. Juli Slattery, Dr. Preston Sprinkle, Caleb Kaltenbach and Rachel Gilson.
