I watched with sadness as the news unfolded yesterday from Orlando.  I was working night shift, so I was getting the text alerts from CNN in real time.  My first thought was “just another random shooting” because that’s what it seemed like at first.  People get shot every day by other people, and as sad as this is, it has become commonplace.  But as the news continued to update, I realized this was something different.

If you have been living in a cave for the past 32 hours, here’s the short version:  a Muslim man affiliated with ISIS went into a gay nightclub in Orlando and shot 102 people (we’re still fuzzy on the total number, it may change).  He was then shot by police.  49 of his victims have died so far.

I feel like I need to make some observations here.  First of all, it is a tragedy whenever one human kills another human.  I know that sometimes we get numb to all the killings that happen, and sometimes we have to kill humans who are intent on killing other humans (such as when the police killed the shooter in Orlando, or when we go to war [usually]).  Life is precious.  Each person only gets one.  That’s why I fight for the right of the unborn to live (because I believe they are human and they are alive). That’s why I think this news is so sad.

I feel like I need to say something here that should be obvious but is not, evidently.   Christians do not hate gay people.   I mean, yes, some individual Christians say stupid things or do stupid things or are just wrong. that’s because all Christians share one thing with all Muslims:  we’re all human, and we’re therefore fallible.  But by and large, on the whole, MOST of us don’t want to run out and kill people because they disagree with us.  I do not hate gay people.  I am perfectly willing to live among gay people and allow them the same rights and respect they allow me.  I am perfectly willing to live among Muslims also, under the same condition.  However, it boggles my mind that liberals are attacking Christians for “hating gays” when WE aren’t the ones killing gay people all over the world.

Those on the left in the US that say conservative Christians hate gay people because we don’t want to bake them a cake are just wrong.  We don’t want to be forced to express implicit approval of their lifestyle choice.  I don’t want to make this post about the fight between conservatives and liberals, but I felt I should point out the difference:

not baking a cake = disagreement.
killing you = hatred.

I think it’s horrible that this Muslim American killed a bunch of Americans.  Their sexual orientation has absolutely nothing to do with the tragedy of the situation, even though it may have factored in the shooter’s motive. It is not somehow “less-tragic” that they died because they were gay, and if you believe I think that way, you’re just wrong.  I think it’s horrible that Muslims all over the world are killing people (including gay people).  And it irritates me that some people (including the President) somehow refuse to understand that a majority of Muslims are in favor of killing gay people.

Here’s a fact that you can carve into stone, cross-stitch into a pillow,  or whatever craft thing is your deal:  A majority of Muslims want to kill people who disagree with them.

I know, not all Muslims feel this way, but a majority do.  It boggles my mind that liberals are attacking Christians for “hating gays” when WE aren’t the ones throwing gay people off buildings, stoning them to death, and hanging them because of their sexual preference. That is Sharia law, which is accepted by Muslims all over the world.

Christians do not hate gay people. We love them.  It’s because we love them that we speak out and try to tell them the truth found in the Bible.  Sometimes we do it wrong.  The Bible says we are to “speak the truth in love” and sometimes we neglect the last two words.

Why do we love gay people? Why do we love Muslims?  Because first of all, God loves them. Christ died for them.  And if we don’t show them, lovingly, that God wants them to turn from their sin and trust in Him, then they will die in their sins and go to hell.  And we don’t want that.  I’m not saying everybody that died yesterday went to hell, because I just don’t know.  Perhaps some of them WERE trusting in Christ. I don’t know.  But generally speaking, people trusting in Christ are not found at a gay bar at 2am on a Saturday night.

Imagine your brother is a heroin addict.  You know he’s making bad choices, and you know the danger he is in.  You try to help him see a better way, but ultimately the choice belongs to him.  That is exactly how I feel about gay people and Muslims: they need Christ.

The tragedy yesterday was not just that these people died, it was the fact that their window of opportunity for trusting in Christ was closed forever.