OK, so you've clicked on this article because you probably think I'm insane, right?

Just hear me out.

In the Christian religion, no matter what denomination you identify with, homosexual relations are seen as a sin and a one-way ticket straight to hell. This is something I really struggled with. I used to be a loving Christian that always attended church two, even three times a week. I loved being a Christian and I loved God.

But then I met my girlfriend.

We have been dating for over a year and I don't doubt that she's the person I'm meant to be with, even if other Christians believe me or not. What I chose to believe in my heart was that I was not willing to give up my relationship with her. However, the other side of me continues to wrestle with the fact that the Church says we are not supposed to engage in this kind of behavior.

Never once did I contemplate leaving my girlfriend.

However, the idea that simply being with the person I love is considered to be "shameful" and a "sin" in the eyes of my "ever loving and faithful father" proved to be something I couldn't handle. I wanted to love God and I wanted to love my girlfriend, but why do I feel the need to chose one over the other? I don't want to feel like there is a God out there that is condemning me to hell for being with the one person I love more than life itself.

Scripture in the Old Testament constantly talks about a man lying with another man as if he were a woman then it is an abomination and they will be denied from heaven.

But then it hits me.

In the New Testament it says something completely different:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."

That's John 3:16. The famous verse every single Christian knows by heart because that's what we were all taught in Sunday school. All Jesus asks of us is to believe in Him.

That's it.

He doesn't ask us to follow a laundry list of rules, He just asks us to believe in him, be humble, love, and forgive.

Jesus doesn't care what kind of baggage you hold. While he was on earth, Jesus walked around and hung out with criminals and prostitutes while those who were viewed as self-righteous walked around and judged them.

God did not send his son down to earth to die for everyone's sins so that Jesus could judge you. God sent his son to earth so Jesus could teach us love, compassion, and kindness.

If you are a Christian who is in a gay relationship, I say it's okay. You love who you are with and no one should ever give up a loving and committed relationship. You also shouldn't have to give up a loving and committed relationship with God. We can not let the shame other people project onto us take hold of our lives.

Live your life in freedom knowing that Jesus loves you regardless of your sexual orientation, as long as you believe in Him and follow His word of love and compassion.