By Jane Ketteman

The uncomfortable text conversation with my non Christian friend in Japan began with “Jane I’ve been thinking of telling you…. Well, I’ll wait.” She mentioned having told some of her other Christian friends, and then said “I don’t think that you will support it either.” At this point, I had a feeling what she was telling me. This awkward situation happens quite frequently now. In modern terms, it’s called “coming out.”

For many of us Christians, it’s a conversation that we don’t want to have with people. I was both caught off guard and expecting it at the same time. However, getting straight to the point, I simply asked “Are you lesbian?” That one question brought instant relief on my friend’s part, and she was immediately thankful that she didn’t have to “break it to me.”

I felt then that the conversation was at a critical point. We had both acknowledged the fact, but as a Christian, I had to really think about what I said next. So, I simply said “Of course I’ll still be your friend! You’re right- I don’t support it, but I’m still going to be your friend!”

Now, as a disclaimer, I am not holding myself up as an example for all other Christian girls out there struggling with handling these types of conversations, but I do want to point out two important things:

• Yes, God says that homosexuality is wrong, and in no way should we ever desensitize ourselves to that fact. However, I want to remind you that everyone has been created in God’s image. This means that everyone, whether they are living God-honoring lives or not, still deserves to be treated with respect and love.
• Handling these conversations with Christ-centered love that confronts but also doesn’t judge leads to amazing follow-up conversations. As soon as I told my friend that I wouldn’t ditch her because of how she identified, God gave me an amazing opportunity when she followed up with “Where in the Bible does it say that being gay is bad?” This was an open door to share the gospel!

If this resonates with you, and you’re struggling with hard conversations, I want to encourage you with this: God will provide opportunities to share the truth, and ultimately, He will use it to bring glory to himself, and to plant seeds of the Gospel.

About the Author: Jane just finished her Sophomore year at Christian Academy in Japan. As a student, she is passionate about English literature and as a musician loves singing and drumming. She loves writing about how God works in her life, and how she sees him in the hard aspects of the real world.