The news of Rev Oyoung's gay marriage has stirred up controversy and even amongst many gay Christians there is a concern of him stirring up the closet and making their lives uncomfortable. Often, God is pushing and stirring the church on to make choices for change, to open the gates of the church to accept the rainbow fish. 

(Isa 61:1-3 NKJV)  "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

(Isa 61:2 NKJV)  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,

(Isa 61:3 NKJV)  To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."

Coming out is an individual choice. The most unexpected benefit of coming out is to have more of Christ, to have more of God in our lives. In Aug 2007, only a few years after coming out, I found my self reading Isaiah  61 in front of lots of video cameras and news crew in the bible reading for the day in the first inaugural MCC church service in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.

When I read Isa 61, the powerful presence of God, the mighty filling of the Holy Spirit came upon me that day until I could hardly stand. Tears rolled down. It doesn't matter anymore even if the evening news was to ever have glimpse of me.

What does it mean to be a gay Christian man? For me, a Gay Christian is one who is:-

Reconciled with Jesus

A Gay Christian is one who loves Jesus and has experienced the love and relationship with God to know that God accepts him including his innate sexual orientation and that he doesn't want to hide this from God because God already knows and wants him to be fully reconciled. 

A Gay Christian is Christ centered and knows the reality of Christ in a personal walk and relationship with Him. Even though the church and friends may reject him, he knows that God will lead him to the peaceful shores beside the streams of living water where he will find God, and also a same sex Christian partner to be with.

Reconciled with self

A Gay Christian is one who accepts himself as created wonderfully and beautifully by God as a gay person, and accepts God who has created him as such as a gift and not a burden because we love God so intensely.

A Gay Christian loves himself and his sexual orientation first so that 

a. He can love others with the love of God

b. the love of Jesus and acceptance of God can come into his life.

Walking by Faith

A Gay Christian is a Christian of incredible faith and trust in God to be willing to risk coming out to himself, to God, and to take the step out of the closet into a journey of faith in order to be in fellowship with his own GLBT tribe and to minister Christ to them.

Walking with Hope

A Gay Christian is a Christian of hope that God will make all things beautiful in his life, and will give him a partner whom he can love, cherish, and be totally attracted to sexually all the days of his life.

Walking with purpose

A Gay Christian is a Christian that loves the ministry of Christ knowing that he was born as a gay person for such a time as this to minister to his own GLBT community with God's love, grace and mercy. He comes out of the closet not only for himself, but that he may become God's blessing to others especially to his own GLBT community.

Walking in a community

A Gay Christian is one in fellowship and in community with other gay christians knowing that we are one to each other and intertwined in our faith holding up each other and stirring their faith in this long race and journey of faith. 

We yearned for our Gay community to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, knowing that by our coming out they too will know that Jesus loves and accepts them as they are, no more and no less because they are gays.

In fact, the heart and compassion of God is on the gay community wounded at the side of the road, and raising up people of faith to declare the year of Jubilee that God has given them a hope and a name that will be everlasting in His kingdom that they will no longer be rejected but be accepted in the Hose of God for eternity.

Walking with authenticity

A gay Christian is one who walks a walk of faith of authenticity and honesty with God, himself, and other Christians. If God accepts us, if Jesus accepts us as a whole person just like a straight person would not have denied their sexual orientation, then we too should not deny ourselves. Because, when we deny ourselves, we are ultimately denying, Christ in us, the Hope of Glory.

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God understands us and our struggles. He waits for you to come out of the closet in your time and in your own way. He understands, and He will be there when you are ready. 

When one is ready, Jesus is waiting, because in coming out, we enter into His embrace love, and acceptance knowing that it is well with my soul and peace will come when we are at peace with God and with ourselves.

It is important in our lives to be at peace with ourselves. It's never too early or too late.