4 1/2 Hours of Being Real
If you encountered someone that the Alberta HRC considered a purveyor of hate speech, particularly towards homosexuals, and who they had forbidden to ever again speak anything disparaging against homosexuals, what would your expectations be?
I didn't have any, and our encounter met them.
Stephen Boissoin is a mild mannered man, with an incredible story to tell. His life story with many twists and turns, and I don't mean dipsy doodles, I mean TWISTS and TURNS is fascinating. How he became a Christian will blow your socks off. How he lived his life before he became a Christian was fortunately not fatal, but it could have been, and almost blew his socks off, had they been on his head at the time.
Over 4 1/2 hours, we spoke of many things, and I mean many things. I wish that I had taped the conversation to remember it in detail. Fortunately, Stephen documented the story he told me about himself a long time ago, and promised to send it to me electronically. Then it will all come back to me. Then I can savour the victory he told me of again, and I hope some time in the future to share that story with you readers.
But one thing stands out. With all that has been thrown at him, and frankly the Alberta HRC is nothing more than a mosquito bite in his life, he has a big smile on his face, because he lives by faith, in the God who has protected him all along the way. His God is not a God of candy land and fairy tales, but the God of majesty and wonder, who has a plan for all of our lives, and Stephen is doing his best to be tapped into that plan.
He had no trouble admitting the sinfulness in his life. It's pretty hard to look at his life with objective eyes, as he does pretty well, and not see it. But, he knows that the God who created the universe, and who sent His Son to be born on this earth, and then die to redeem him from his sins, loves him with a love that has no bounds.
Does he hate homosexuals? Not on your life, and certainly not on his. He just does not want to lie to them, or others who are unhappy with their lives. He knows that kind of unhappiness personally, and knows the despair that comes with it. He also knows the peace and joy that comes with coming home. He is not arrogant about his faith either, because he knows how close he was to disaster, and the miracles that saved him from death. He knows that he has been saved from where he was at by the immense love and grace of a God who's justice is mercy.
If I were a homosexual and was not happy with my life, I would listen to him, because he has a message for me. If I was a homosexual and happy as a clam with where I was at, I would keep my mouth shut, and go on about my life, and give him a wide berth. But, if I were a homosexual and angry at the world of all those homophobes (whatever that word really means), I'd kick and scream because what he has to say won't sit well with me. Find the lie in what he has to say, if you can. But, if with an open heart, you can't, then maybe you could listen for a while before you judge. Unless, of course you are a politically correct, and motivated HRC. Then you can try to squelch his right to speak out about the truth as he understands it to be. Good luck with that one.
Along the way in our discussion, we disagreed about a few things. I am Catholic, and committed to my faith. Stephen is committed to his expression of faith. Love does not take offence, and so neither of us did. We listened. We prayed. We enjoyed the fellowship.
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