Recently I had a conversation with a young lady that saddened me intensely.

A little while into the conversation the young lady, of about 19/20, said ‘of course I used to go to church but I left …. I had to leave because no one will accept me … I would be religious if I could find a church that would accept me but none will … because I am gay.’

The conversation went on and she seemed positively surprised to hear that not everyone in the church felt she was condemned because of her sexuality. She was surprised to hear that not all in the church would condemn her because she is attracted to other women.

I left the conversation with a deep sadness for this young lady. I wanted to prove to her that God loves her, that she is not condemned in any way and that God views her as his daughter and loves her intensely no matter what she does, who she is, or who she sleeps with.

I wanted to apologise for the church. Even as I write I can feel tears welling – for here is a daughter of Christ who wants to be accepted, who wants to worship and be part of a Christian community – and yet she is deprived of that because of the foolishness of ideas and rules that have lost or forgotten the major point of our faith in Christ – God is love and Jesus came to bring all people back into relationship with God – irrespective of social standing, colour of skin, sexuality, gender, geography, …. the list can go on.

If I can cry over a young girl like this deprived of her Lord by people – I am forced to ask what is God’s reaction? The God who knit this girl together in her mother’s womb, the God who breathed life giving spirit into her lungs, the God who has ordained her days, the God who knows her better than she knows herself and the God who loves her totally and unconditionally. I have shed a few tears … does God cry a river, a lake, an ocean?

A deep sense of sadness and helplessness sum up this whole conversation for me. All I can do is pray:

Lord, meet this young lady where she is, reassure her of her love for you and in some way draw her back to yourself with people who understand and accept. Amen