It is so true that people see right
through agendas we have and they feel the pain when our agendas are selfish. I
have known for a while that reaching the LGBT people with the Good News of
Jesus and His coming Kingdom would be done through building authentic
relationships. The way to do this, is to not have an unrighteous
agenda (self-centered, twisted, violent, other stuff) in reaching people. At the same time, let’s
face that we all have some sort of reason to be in relationship. My reason is
that some might be saved through my life, but I am realizing more and more that
we need to build authentically loving relationships with people who don’t know
Jesus in order to bless them.
HIV/AIDS, a Cause Worthy of our Attention
So, how are we building authentic
relationships with LGBT background people in Hillcrest? I’m glad you care. We
are doing several things but one of them is volunteering in places where both
the LGBT community and God care deeply about. Yep, there are causes in the LGBT
community that they care deeply about and God is zealous in seeing it accomplished. I found one. HIV, the
virus that causes AIDS has turned into a global pandemic. At one point, it was
thought that it was only limited to the LGBT community and was therefore called
GRIDS (gay related immune deficiency syndrome) as opposed to AIDS (acquired
immune deficiency syndrome). We have learned that HIV/AIDS is not limited to
the gay population, though there are many affected. It can be transmitted
in many ways and occurs in heterosexual people as well (in fact, sex is a means
of transmission but it really comes down to an infected person exchanging select body fluids with another, even iv drug users fit this). As can be imagined, there was in the past (and I am finding still today) a bunch of fear
and shame and violence directed towards the LGBT, which further stigmatized an already socially out casted group.
How
does God feel about the disease, killing people since it started to spread
across the globe? It seems to me the Old Testament Prophet Ezekiel, has the insight
we need to remember: “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?
Declares the Sovereign Lord, Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their
ways and live” (Ezekiel 18:23 NIV). Another passage shows the same aspect of
God’s heart in a different way: “For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone,
declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!” (Ezekiel 18:32). God is merciful
and doesn’t like death, even death of the wicked/unrighteous/evil/rebellious
(like I've been). He doesn’t want anyone to die but that all people have
eternal life with Him.
So now you know how we plan to build
authentic relationships by supporting a cause God and LGBT people care about.
We are helping with a local non-profit that is only a 5 min walk from our home
in Hillcrest. This non-profit is called Being Alive. I love the title, don’t
you?
Confirmation, Being Alive is the Spot
I’d like to share how I came to originally start helping out
at Being Alive and how I know we are supposed to invest time and energy serving
Jesus here.
Originally, I knew that I didn’t
want to just volunteer in any way because I was cautious on what causes I wanted
to give my time to (I am getting shifted a bit on this too by the way). One day I was researching places to volunteer and I
found Being Alive and noticed it was right by my house. Later during a
prayer walk, I met a guy from the Community who I later started to build a
friendship with and he mentioned to me that he actually spent some of his time
volunteering at Being Alive! So, I was interested and eventually went to check out the place.
When I first visited the
Organization, there were all kinds of interesting folks filling the office. I
knew I was in a whole different world than I had been in before when I started
interacting with the people there. One person in the office directed me to see
a supervisor there who was in charge of the food pantry and moving HIV+ San
Diegans. When I met him, one of the first questions he asked me was if I had a
pick up. I said, yeeaah. In my mind, I was like, ok Lord, this is a good sign I
am supposed to be here. I’m listening. I don’t remember quite, but I believe
the next time that I went to the building I saw yet another sign. It was a
painting of Jesus wearing the crown of thorns and He was looking up at the
crown on His head with tears in His eyes. Today, I still shudder as I think of
that painting and remember the merciful heart of God for all people, even LGBT
people infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Some Last Thoughts Describing How God has Been Connecting Me
to People through Volunteering
It is here, for the past 5 or 6
months, that I have been building relationships by serving people in their felt
needs. I’ve been moving people, picking up recyclables (as you read in my last
post), and ultimately meeting people right where they are at. I’ve prayed for
more people than I can remember right now, and to my surprise many have cried, been
thankful and seemed to know Jesus or of Him. I’ve been introduced to people
throughout a network of LGBT non-profits and businesses. I’ve met people who in
the short time I’ve known them have died. I have met people twisting the word
of God to justify themselves. I have seen people struggling with concepts from
the Bible and their sexuality. I have seen the brokenness of many lives.
I’ve began the long work of
building relationships, building trust, and asking God to break my heart and to
remind me of the crazy amount of mercy He has given me. All this so that I can
be a part of Jesus showing LGBT people His heart.
