I’m already weary of the gay marriage debate issue (the debate seems to be over), though I am sure it’s an issue we’re not going to be able to ignore, and here’s why. These are two links from CNN, one which reports that last Friday the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America elected its first openly gay bishop, and another which reports on a Washington State florist who is being prosecuted for not making flowers for a gay wedding. Although Mrs. Stutzman (sounds like a Mennonite relative) happily referred the longtime customer to other florists, the customer said he “was really hurt because it was someone I knew.”
I understand the argument that this is tantamount to Jim Crow laws, when white racists dressed up not serving black people with moral, even (wince) biblical arguments. Maybe their sin is now being visited upon their grandchildren, because when we say we truly have a moral objection to gay marriage, the culture at large doesn’t seem willing to believe us. Of course, that still doesn’t change the fact that we do.
I know it’s often said that Christians are too negative, that we’re known for what we’re against rather than what we’re for. But there are going to be more stories like Mrs. Stutzman, as gay spouses bring the fight to us. Tell me how Mrs. Stutzman is supposed to do the right thing and not come off negative (for the record, she has hired gay employees in the past, so she is only opposed to gay marriage, not gay people).
God bless Mrs. Stutzman. She has seen the future, and she encourages Christians to ““Don’t give in. If you have to go down for Christ, what better person to go down for?”
Mike Wittmer 
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