By Tanya Yoder

LGBTQ+ and Christianity. They’re not super popular words you hear together often, but why aren’t they more commonly said together? Like, I am an LGBTQ+ Christian, which can be a bit of a surprise to some people. The reason for the surprise is obvious: according to a lot of the world, homosexuality is a ‘sin’ and therefore you can’t be gay or an ally or whatever and follow Jesus.

Hello??? You can be whatever you want, babe. Don’t let the stereotypes take that away from you.

I grew up in a certain kind of culture. It wasn’t a super ‘strict’ one, but I was always told certain things, things that weren’t exactly the best to be repeating to a growing kid. A growing kid has a growing mind, and when that mind produces certain thoughts (the ones that it was told not to have), it panics and spirals. Yeah, it wasn’t fun. Now, I have learned that there are always going to be people who won’t accept you, but guess what? That isn’t your problem. That’s a them issue. In my mind, the only opinion that matters is God’s.

There is a certain perception of Christians and honestly, it isn’t the nicest. In my experience, I’ve seen or heard other people view Christians as homophobic, closed-minded people. I hope you know that isn’t how all Christians are (I’m living proof!). It is those types of Christians that make the LGBTQ+ community feel as if they are unwelcome in God’s Kingdom. Or they will accept you and invite you to church, only to pray that you change.

So, what if you happen to be a woman and have an attraction to women? That doesn’t mean that God loves you any less or that you can’t follow Jesus. This can be so, so hard to believe sometimes. If I’m being honest, I’m struggling to accept that myself! It’s definitely a process and doesn’t happen overnight. But if you surround yourself with the right people and continue to repeat to yourself that you are loved exactly how you are, it can happen.

Now here’s the controversial part (though let’s be honest, all of this has been pretty controversial up to this point). From my own research, the Bible doesn’t necessarily say anything about our version of homosexuality. At the point in time when the Bible was being written, ‘homosexuality’ had a different meaning. Now, I’m not going to give you a history lesson; you can do your own research if you want. But it’s been several thousands of years since the Bible was written, and look at how many versions there are.

Surely, it didn’t stay exactly the same all those years. Heck, it wasn’t even originally written in English! No, I’m not saying that the Bible is irrelevant. I’m only saying that it’s possible that the initial message isn’t what some people perceive it as. I believe that there have been changes to the Bible and the certain verses people like to fixate on aren’t what they say they are. That’s another thing: how come there’s so much attention on these certain things? The world has bigger problems than girls who kiss girls and boys who kiss boys. The queer community isn’t even a problem! Being who you truly are should never ever be a problem.

I’m a part of a youth group that goes on mission trips every summer. This year was my second mission trip, and we went to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Let me tell you, it was so much fun to experience the connection you feel with everyone. Though I won’t lie, there were times that I felt as if I didn’t belong. Like I was inside the circle, but there was a bit of me a little outside the line.

In my case, I was blessed enough to have someone to relate to: one of my youth leaders. I had been mentioning this show that I’m practically obsessed with called Heartstopper (hopefully, some of you know it), and she knew a bit about it. One night she asked me if I felt a little left out sometimes due to how I personally feel about the LGBTQ+ community. I said yes, and she told me that she feels the same at times. Honestly, a part of me was a little surprised that she brought up the topic. But I was happy that she did. I knew I wasn’t alone in my feelings anymore.

Later that night, I asked her if I could talk a bit with her, and so we did – the next night. Out of all the conversations I’ve had with people about my struggle with accepting that I am a bisexual Christian, this one was the most helpful to me. As much as the other talks helped, I experienced a lot of comfort in this one and learned a lot of things that just sat right with me. I won’t disclose all the details, but one thing that really stuck with me that she told me is that you are more than your sexuality. There is so much more to you than being gay or lesbian or pan, and so on.

There are many more words that could be said on this topic; I enjoy talking about it. But I’ll wrap it up. Just remember that God accepts you no matter who you are and no matter who you love. Regardless of gender or sexuality. Reject the stereotypes and embrace self-acceptance.

You are so beautifully made.