Love One Another (No Exceptions)
I am often a little behind in acknowledging special days or recognizing significant events or moments. Birthdays, holidays, Pride, international pancake day. I show my love but it may come in the midnight hour.
Today is no different. Late to the party, as per usual. But my silence does not represent absence of thought. I simply refuse to speak (write, type…) unless I have something sincere and poignant to say.
So, after 30 days of serious thought and consideration, particularly over the last few weeks, I would like to say this:
No one’s love is a sin and no one’s gender, identity, or presentation makes them a sinner.
Read that again.
Amid the uprisings in response to the slaying of unarmed Black people across this country, we’ve rarely paused to acknowledge the brutal killings of trans Black people. I wrote about this in my blog post about Anthony Hill. I discuss the reasons why the Black community and faith communities have historically failed the LGBTQ community. So I won’t recount that here.
But I will say that my faith is not dictated through a binary lens of exclusion or fueled by hate. As a Christian, I believe that God is love. As a human, I believe that love is love.
Unfortunately, over the course of history, human Christians have used their interpretations of the interpreted Word of God to abuse, enslave, suppress, and oppress other people who were also made is His image.
There was a time when interracial marriage was considered a sin. There were also some who claimed that being Black inherently made you sinful or more prone to sin. While there are clearly those who still hold these bastardized beliefs dear to their hearts — the world, the Church, and the laws have begun to reflect protest and pursue progress.
My hope is that the same shift is made toward the LBGTQ community. That a generation from now, young people everywhere will be shocked and appalled when their elders tell them about a time when people had to be ashamed of who they are and who they love. That humans tried to separate other humans from the love of God because that first group of humans decided the second group’s differences scared them.
I look forward to a day when recognize that we were all made in His image and deserve to love and be loved for who He created us to be.
Originally published at http://aishaadkins.com on June 30, 2020.
