There are a lot of things coming out means. Here are a few things it should not mean.
That you will be told God hates you.
That you will be bullied at school.
That you will be called ugly names.
That you must live in fear of violence.
That you forfeit your rights as a human being.
That you are less equal.
That you are less loved.
That if you are a teenager you will be thrown out and become homeless. (This happens to 26% of LGBT teens who come out to their parents)
Today I call on everyone to let love rule the day.
If someone comes out to you today, instead of reacting with judgement or disappointment or anger why not try this…
Ask them about their journey. Listen. Try to understand.
Love them. Right. Where. They. Are.
That is what Jesus would do.
More resources:
Human Rights Campaign: Growing up LGBT
word of a woman 
I am glad, in a way, that you did not put a question mark or quotation marks around “pray away the gay” because seeing those words made me spray coffee over my monitor, and I clicked on it. Yes. Lovely post.
I still want to hear from you, though. In what way is being gay a blessing for the individual and for the community?
Good post and I agree that Jesus would love them and so should we. However, I wonder if Jesus would point out their sin and tell them to sin no more? Just a thought.
Ryan,
Thoughtful followers of Jesus disagree not only on whether simply being same sex attracted is a sin. I do not believe it is.
Thoughtful followers of Jesus also disagree on whether acting on those attractions and seeking to be married. I no longer believe it is.
I understand that you do.
I would ask you to watch this video: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/tonyjones/2012/05/04/dont-blame-the-bible-for-your-bad-views-on-homosexuality/
You can also see how I handle the individual passages here: https://wordofawoman.com/2012/04/16/homosexuality-and-god-conclusion/
Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts.
m
I appreciate this post very much. I have spent the last 17 years trying to figure out how to relate Jesus-ly to my LGBT friends and have only recently dropped my last shreds of belief that gay sex is somehow wrong in any way. It has been a long journey for me, and I try to act with compassion and patience toward those who are still trying to figure out what to believe about the issue. But the call to love everyone is SO uncomplicated, regardless.