Blue Hair

In a trying season, I was reminded of John Wesley’s perspective on persecution. There was a time when he bemoaned the fact that he had gone three whole days without anyone throwing a brick or a rotten egg at him! That should be a good thing, except that Jesus Himself reminds us that if we are living a godly life, we will face persecution. And so, in this season, I was trying to remember that persecution could be a good indication that I was somehow on the right track. Some days it was harder to remember than others.

On this day, as I prepared to present to a group of adolescents at a behavioral health center, I once again had some trepidation. My confidence was down. The stench from rotten eggs and the bruises from bricks and stones being thrown at me were still fresh. Reflecting on all the things that had happened in the past week or so, I had come to realize that when I was not immersed—in God’s word and in Christian fellowship—my presentations were far less engaging or compelling. The Spirit was not in my words like it was when I had been filling with the Spirit. My devotionals and other things had been emphasizing that we don’t convince people of truth, we point them to Christ. Truth isn’t facts to be convinced of, but a person—Jesus Christ! I resolved to go in love, to bring hope, not arguments. To point them to Christ, not debate worldviews. My resolve was soon to be tested.

From Bricks to “Blown Away” 

A young man who was flamboyantly gay with a sweeping mop of blue hair on his head was quick to interject “witty” comments as I presented on the flood. When I asked them what they thought of when they heard the word “catastrophe” there were a few reasonable attempts to respond and this young man said with all seriousness, “When I think of the word catastrophe, I think of . . . diarrhea!"  I good naturedly agreed that could indeed be catastrophic! However, when I asked them about uniformitarianism, I asked, “How does everyone look when they are wearing a uniform?” (Seeking the response, “The same.”) The young man responded, “Hot!” Knowing I needed to nip this in the bud, I quickly dismissed his response by answering on my own.

As the talk progressed, the group seemed particularly engaged. Even the heckler ceased his heckling, even nodding in agreement from time to time. I ended by telling them that I brought this kind of evidence so that they might come to see the Bible as something they could place their trust in, to find hope in. That they were, indeed, made in the image of God and that he had a purpose for each of their lives—even if they were in the midst of hard circumstances. There wasn’t a lot of time for questions or discussion at the end, but I thanked them for their attention and they began to file out.

The blue-haired heckler approached as I was putting away my computer, with the chaplain putting away the projector nearby. I braced myself, but was surprised by what he had come to say. “I just wanted to thank you. Thank you for coming—and for using real science to make your points. It seems like whenever I have gone to a group like this, or approached a Christian with questions that I struggle with, they always point me back to the Bible. But if you don’t believe the Bible, their defenses are pointless! I am not saying that what you said today is going to change my mind about God or the Bible . . . but you’ve got me thinking!”

I was overjoyed! I told him that was exactly why I had left research and was doing what I was doing. That I believed with all my heart that this was a message that so many needed to hear. 

As he left, another young man came back into the room. He, too, admitted that the presentation had “blown him away”! He asked if there had been people on the ark and seemed incredulous that the stories of the Bible could actually represent fact and history and science. I was able to share a bit more and point him to some resources if he was interested in more evidence for the Christian faith.

One More Question

As he left, the first young man returned. He said he had one more question for me, and I was pretty sure I knew what it was going to be. He went on to say, “I . . . well, I am gay. A lot of people use their faith to justify persecution and hateful treatment of people who are gay. I was wondering what you thought about this?”

Mind racing . . . so many things . . . we had already been informed that this was a topic the chaplain and staff would handle and that we weren’t to address it . . . the chaplain was right there . . . but mostly, it was the look in his eyes . . . it was so genuine, so raw . . . it was as though somehow I had been deemed a “nice Christian” and he was truly interested to know what I thought about this . . .

In that moment, it was as though I knew with no uncertainty that I was representing Christ to this young “gay” “heckler.” My heart was absolutely heavy with the weight of that responsibility. He had to see my love for him—Christ’s love for him. Yet I must stand for truth . . .  

From the fruits of the wrestling I had been through in just that past week—as I washed off the rotten eggs and nursed the tender bruises from the cast stones—the love of Christ rose up and overflowed from the very heart of me. 

“First of all, the people that are persecuting and hating on gays are NOT representing Christ. Christ told us to love everyone, regardless. Those people are sinful people who are not following the teachings of Christ. I have family members that are gay, I love people who are gay.”

“I told you, I come not to tell you what to believe, but why to believe. I point people to God’s word so that he can tell them what is right and what is wrong. It is not my opinion, but God’s. As far as my interpretation of what God says about homosexuality, I believe that God’s will is that we enter into monogamous, heterosexual relationships.

We all have things we struggle with, I have my own things that I want to do that God says are wrong. And I wrestle with that because it seems good to me and I want to do those things. But because I have come to trust God and his word—that he is wise, and kind, and loving and knows what is best for me—I do my best to follow his guidelines for my life. It’s not just homosexuality, my brother struggled for years with addiction. There are those who say that there is a genetic component to that as well. Yet, addiction was not a good place for him to remain—I didn’t want him to stay there. In fact, his story is a big part of why I am here today. When God got a hold of him, he was absolutely transformed! He was completely freed from his addiction. And, I have heard the same for many who struggle with homosexuality! That God completely freed them from those desires!” 

Germinating Seeds

He just looked deep into my eyes with the most serious expression. Some sadness . . . it wasn’t what he had hoped to hear. But no defensiveness or hostility. It was as though he was really processing all of this at a really deep level. I had to thank him for how he was handling himself in this whole discussion. “Thank you for this civil discourse. It’s not always that way, you know. Sometimes, we too are treated poorly for what we believe.” He nodded in agreement, “I’m sure that’s true.” I affirmed once again, “So thank you. You have made my day. I want you to know that I will be praying for you on your journey.” He smiled a sweet smile and left with a nod and a wave.

I am so grateful that God knew how much I needed that encouragement and affirmation, myself, on that day. He doesn’t have to show me any germinating seeds from my obedience—but he does! Oh, how I hope to someday see that young man in heaven! That God will one day show me the full bloom of that obedience—what God can do through us when we say yes . . . even in the face of persecution.

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God 

he created them; male and female he created them.”

Genesis 1:27 NIV

“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,”

Ephesians 1:11 NIV

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.

Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”

1 John 4:7 NIV

“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”

Romans 3:23 NIV