The greatest gift God ever gave humankind was love in its many expressions, and the capacity to give and receive love is the richest fulfillment for us. We may not always have felt this way, for many of us were miseducated into believing that our love was shameful. Yet, despite this, the human spirit’s capacity to love is more resilient than its capacity to hate. Through our love we have and are continuing to overcome hate. Considering that love is the greatest commandment God ever gave us, as we move forward, our path is clear. We must love.

To put it another way, we must be ourselves. Love, whether queer or not, is the most powerful force known to humankind – for God is love. Our identities are not a weakness but our biggest strength. And no matter how much we face hatred and bigotry every day, we are still here and unmovable. We will not compromise or give up our greatest gift because it was God who made us how we are. A gift from God is too precious to discard; rather, it is worthy of protection.

These hearts of ours that have learned how to love are worthy of protecting, for love is and has always been worth fighting for. At times, the way forward seems shrouded in many unknowns, but if love is the way, the truth, and the life… then love is our compass. We need only be true to ourselves to overcome. This Pride, embrace the spirit of gratitude and gladness. We have much to be thankful for, the foremost being the ways in which the LGBTQ community gives and receives love.

Prayer

Loving God,

Bless You, for the power to overcome all obstacles. Let us love boldly, and bravely, and may we all feel the pride of being Your creation. Help those who feel lost and alone. Remind us that You are here with us creating rainbows to light our paths with love. Amen.

Jonathon McClellan is the award-winning and bestselling author of Messages of Hope and The Ant’s Palace. Order your copies today! For writing requests or speaking engagements email: jonathonmmcclellan@gmail.com. And you can follow him at facebook.com/newseedsofhope