As a painter and art lover, I am fascinated by rainbows. Many times God has spoken to me through rainbows and even double rainbows, assuring me of His love and covenant for me and all of His children. However, when I have posted pictures of rainbows in the past, I have either been shunned by Christians who think I am endorsing an ungodly lifestyle, or welcomed by those who believe in a secular rainbow lifestyle. Either. Either way, my love and appreciation for God's rainbow is often distorted and misunderstood.
Rainbows, the breathtaking arcs of color painted in the sky after a storm, have always had deep meaning for Christians. It is a symbol of God's covenant with humanity, a promise to Noah and his descendants that no flood would ever destroy the earth again. This promise is Genesis 9:13-16speaks of God's mercy and His eternal faithfulness.
“I have set a rainbow in the clouds, and it is a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring a cloud to the earth, and a rainbow appears in the cloud, We remember the covenants we have made with all kinds of creatures.”
However, in recent years, the rainbow has come to be adopted as a symbol of society. LGBTQIA+ Community Representing Pridediversity, and the fight for equality. This change has provoked mixed emotions among Christians, with reactions ranging from acceptance and support to rejection and condemnation.
why pride• Many in the LGBTQIA+ community face immense shame, rejection, and persecution.? Pride in this context is not about arrogance, but about reclaiming the dignity and asserting the worth of marginalized individuals. It is a response to a history of shame and abuse, a way of saying, “We are here, and we have the right to be seen and loved as we are.”
As Christians, we must reflect deeply on our role in this story. The church is supposed to be a beacon of Christ's unconditional love, but it has often failed to live up to this mission. Time and time again, Christians have behaved and spoken in un-Christlike ways, contributing to the very feelings of shame and alienation that pride confronts.
I deeply regret the actions of many Christians. We have failed to demonstrate the true unconditional love of Jesus Christ. The church has sometimes been ugly, acted ugly, and spoken ugly words. This is not the gospel. This is not the love of Christ that we are called to embody.
Throughout my years of ministry, I have been able to lead many people to Christ through Christ's unconditional love, especially from gender-confused communities. It also requires communicating God's truth in love. I have studied, trained, and participated in many conversations to understand the pain and struggles that many people face on their journey to finding their true identity. Yes, the key is for people to discover the gender identity that God has chosen for them and be confident in that identity. Unless we understand the root of the problem, we will always continue to struggle on the surface. However, this subject has deep roots of pain, suffering, trauma, and conflict. Hating, shaming, and blaming only add to the problem instead of serving as a bridge to the real solution, Jesus Christ.
We have invited many precious and beautiful people from the gay lifestyle into our church and home. We welcomed them into our homes and poured out the love of Christ on them instead of beating and shaming them with the Bible. The results were incredibly impactful and life-changing. We have seen over time how people recognize true and pure love and respond to God's unconditional love. I believe that as a bride of Christ, I am missing out on the joy and fulfillment of the experience of giving love without compromising my values or grieving God's heart. But when we hate, blame, and shame, we grieve God's heart.
On the other hand, it is always our duty to speak the truth in love. This does not mean blaming or shaming others, but rather sharing the hope and change that comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Balance is required. That means being sincere in the call of Jesus Christ to make disciples of both truth and love.
We must strive to be a church that embodies this balance. We must repent of our failure to demonstrate the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. This means relating to others in a caring, respectful, and graceful way. It means listening with an open heart to the stories and struggles of the LGBTQIA+ community, acknowledging their pain, and standing up against the injustices they face.
It also means being faithful to the truth of the gospel without compromising God's standards, which means inviting others into a transformative relationship with Jesus rather than condemning or shaming. . Our message must always be one of hope, healing, and salvation. The message is that everyone is deeply loved by God and called into His family.
From the bottom of my heart, I urge my fellow Christians to reflect on our actions and attitudes. Let us be known for our love, our willingness to stand up for gospel truth, and our dedication to the gospel. Let the rainbow remind us of God's enduring promises and His call to be instruments of His peace and love in the world. Let us never lose the rainbow within us. It is the most beautiful covenant of love we have with the Lord.
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Photo credit: ©Getty Images/D-Keine
