I nearly titled todays blog post, “Why I Think Jesus Would Attend A Gay Wedding.”  But, I didn’t want to sound like a sensationalist.  I also considered titling it “How Much God Loves Us”, but the love of God seems so cliché these days.

While many religious people would not attend a gay wedding, I believe that Jesus would because His religion is love.  He laid down His life for all sinners.  Why would he put down His love and pick up a club of hate against gays?  It makes no sense to picture Jesus standing outside a gay wedding holding a sign that says, “God hates gays”.

“Jesus was a forward thinker.”  This quote was part of a Facebook comment my daughter made on my last blog post.  Yes, Jesus was and still is a forward thinker.  He did not live a status quo life.  He didn’t just go with the popular thinking of the day.  Yet, He was still a popular person.  He didn’t hate anyone, but He certainly was hated by the religious leaders of His time.  He healed many, but in the end His body was broken.

He was born a carpenter’s son.  That made Him a carpenter by trade.  But, He knew who His real Father was in heaven.  He knew He wasn’t born to live the status quo life of a carpenter and die a carpenter  No.  He knew he needed to die a Savior.  He knew He needed to create new hearts, not new furniture.

He wasn’t afraid to go against the popular thinking of the time, even His disciples who spent the most time with Him couldn’t seem to grasp that in order to save the world He must die.  Not live and strike down their enemies.

It’s easy to live a status quo Christian life even when we spend time with Jesus.  Self reigns supreme and to die to it crosses every natural instinct of self-preservation that we have.  When someone wrongs us we feel we have every right to stand up, fight and strike down our enemies.  But, to follow the example of Christ we must crucify self and treat them with love.  Love; it’s probably the most talked about, most widely accepted teaching of Christ and yet the least often practiced.

Seeking after love that doesn’t come from God is like going into a  jewelry store and plunking down $10,000 for a 1 carat cubic zirconia diamond ring.  It mostly resembles the real thing, but we are still left wanting the real thing.

Imagine a young woman who has received a 1 carat cubic zirconia diamond ring from her boyfriend.  She knows it’s not real, but she wants it to be.  She accepts it and wears it to work the next day. She shows it off to her co-workers who ooooh and ahhhhh over her new diamond ring.  They know it’s not real.  She knows its’ not real, but it’s status quo to go along with the flow.   So we agree it’s beautiful, after all none of our friends have ever had the real thing.  Everyone shows up with a cubic zirconia diamond engagement ring.  We are not even sure it is possible to have a real diamond.  Real diamonds are something people talk about, but never really seem to have.  We seem to catch glimpses of real diamonds, but generally they seem elusive, something someone else has.

Real love is something people talk about but never really seem to have.  Real love is selfless.  Not based on preconceived conditions of what I need or want.  It puts the other persons needs first.  The only way I can have that kind of love is when I accept God’s love for me.  Then like a plant, planted in God’s love, His love will automatically bloom from me, it’s fragrance creating beauty and peace.  God didn’t love me because I was good, He loves me because I am His child.  Selfish love is conditional.  It’s easy to love someone when they do what we like for us.  But, the minute the person we love no longer meets our description of love for us then we reject them and move on to search for love elsewhere.   We look at love selfishly, it is something we want and need.  But, true love is selfless, because true love comes from God.

When I accept God’s love into my heart, I can proverbially give away millions and millions of dollars worth of real diamonds and never run out.  I don’t have to be selfish and stingy with my diamonds.  I don’t have to hold tightly to my cubic zirconia’s and only give them to people I feel deserve them.   When I accept the free diamonds from God I will always be plenty to give away to everyone.

So back to my original title for today’s post: Why Jesus Would Go To A Gay Wedding.  He would go to a gay wedding because He has the love of His father in His heart for us.  Nothing can stop it.  It’s real.  Unselfish.  Unconditional.  Unstoppable.  And it never ends.  It doesn’t end when I sin against God, it doesn’t begin when I do the right things.  It always has been, always is, and always will be.  Because, God is Love.