The Christian rock band Seventh Day Slumber has come under fire over a social media post illustrating Jesus' compassion for members of the LGBT community.
As Charisma News previously reported, on June 7, Christian rock band Seventh Day Slumber posted an illustration on their Facebook page showing Jesus embracing an LGBT person sporting a pink mohawk, with the LGBT pride colors plainly shown on the person's shaved head.
Lead singer Joseph Rojas wrote in the caption: "This picture is a powerful reminder of who God is, how God loves, and how none of us are out of His reach! You can come to Him in your hurt, you can come to Him in your pain, you can come to Him in your sin, you can come to Him in your brokenness. He loves you where you're at. He also loves you too much to leave you there. Be kind to one another. You never know what someone has been through."
More than 8,000 comments, both favorable and critical, have been left on the post, which has been shared almost 3,000 times. It has also gotten the band into trouble with several venues, who have opted to cancel their scheduled gigs.
Mr. Rojas has said that he is willing to speak with any pastor who has hired the band and would want to address the subject in further depth.
Rojas's counsel to his fans
As Rojas pointed out in a follow up post, the band has never advocated for a sinful lifestyle in their more than 20 years of ministry, instead urging followers to, "Come to [Jesus] as flawed as you are, as broken as you are, as confused as you are. Come to Him with your questions and your anger. Just come."
On June 10, Rojas addressed his followers and advised them not to allow the furious crowd to prevent them from openly loving people and ministering to those who are in need of help.
He went on to relate his experience of overcoming the sin of cocaine addiction, as well as other drug addictions, and how his mother never stopped praying for him.
Rojas also appealed to those who have been wronged by the church not to lose their faith in Jesus.
John Matarazzo, presenter of "AlongTheWay" on the Charisma Podcast Network, explained that the month of June has become an annual event in which the LGBT community expresses their pleasure in their respective lifestyles. The rainbow, originally intended to be a sign of God's pledge to never again destroy the planet by a flood, has now been taken by the LGBT as a symbol of pride in a sinful lifestyle.
"As Seventh Day Slumber wrote in the original post, Jesus loves where you're at. He also loves you too much to leave you there," he wrote.
Restoring the meaning of the rainbow symbolism
Conversely, ex-LGBT people met recently for the "Freedom March," in which they sought to reclaim the rainbow as a symbol of God's covenant. They wore T-shirts with rainbow flags and the word "Rainbow Revival" emblazoned on them.
More than 200 people attended the event, many of them offered personal testimonies of how Jesus impacted their lives.
"We are taking back the rainbow," said one of the attendees. "It's His. For us, it's something beautiful."
