Don’t be surprised when it’s a thing of the past to hold up a baby, see male genitalia, and say, “It’s a boy.”
So that leaves us with one big question…
How do we respond?
Sadly, Christians often feel the pressure to respond in one of two extremes: affirm or object. The world seems to believe these are the only two options and interpret them as love or hate. They might even attribute faces to those two stands.
But are those the only two choices— verbalizing “Good for you” or “I disagree with your sinful lifestyle”?
Responding in love and truth
Put yourself in my friend’s situation. A kid you care about blurts out, “I’m a lesbian.” Or maybe, “I identify as a guy now.”
How do you respond?
I guess this is where you should ask yourself what your goal is. Love? Conversion (another bad word now)? Truth? A mix of these?
Personally, my goal would be to open up the doors of communication with them so I could show them the love of Jesus. In fact, I would neither affirm or object to their lifestyle. Instead I would seek to just introduce them to Jesus so that the Holy Spirit can do His work. I would refuse any temptation to try to “fix” them first.
I would find it a victory if anyone were to say, “God, I give you my identity and my sexual behavior.” I’ve seen ministries with two completely different theologies have this similar goal and both reach kids effectively.
So what does this look like in day-to-day conversations?
Here’s a few principles I’ve learned over the years (many of them the hard way) that have helped me and might help you respond in love and truth.
