My gay friend says if I really love him, I'll accept his homosexuality. Is that true?

Jesus is the perfect example of someone who loved sinners yet hated sin.  Jesus confronted much sin but always treated the sinner with love.  God hates all sin equally, and perhaps, with regard to loving the homosexual, the first step is simply to acknowledge that homosexual behavior is a sin like any other – including murder, heterosexual sin, lust, envy, covetousness, gossip, etc.   People living a homosexual lifestyle are sinners like the rest of us and, like the rest of us, they are people created by God and loved by God.  As such, we are called to love in whatever sinful state we happen to find them.

One thing to remember is that almost everyone who has embraced homosexuality as an identity truly believes that they are homosexual to their core.  They may or may not see their behavior as sinful, but their perceived homosexual identity, in their minds, is independent of behavior.  While we know their belief to be in error, it is ”right” to them. 

Those trapped in the deception of homosexuality are people in need of healing.  They are hurt and broken people who need the touch of the great physician, Jesus Christ.  Jesus Himself said that He came not for the healthy, but for the sick.  If loving a homosexual is a struggle for you, pray for God to give you His eyes for the homosexual and for your heart to be broken, and not hardened, for the homosexual.  He loves them and desires for them to be reconciled to Himself.  Pray to have His heart for the homosexual!

Mike Goeke is the Executive Vice President for Exodus International — a growing network of former homosexuals dedicated to sharing the transforming power of Jesus Christ to those affected by unwanted same-sex attraction. Personal experience draws Mike to this issue as his own struggle with homosexuality almost destroyed him and his marriage. Ultimately, God’s healing and restoration birthed a new desire to share the same hope of transformation with others experiencing the same emptiness and isolation he found in gay life.