He says: “Do not judge according to the appearance but judge with righteous
judgment.” (John 7:24) In other words, come from love, and consider the
factors that might contribute to the behavior in question.
In the Heavenly Doctrines, too, there are powerful teachings that urge us
to respond with love. We learn, for example:
Those who have charity hardly notice the evil in other people, but instead notice all
the goods and truths that are theirs, and on their evils and falsities they place a good
interpretation. (Arcana Coelestia 1079:2)
Along similar lines, we are called in several places to love the good that
is in a person and attach ourselves to that good. (True Christian Religion 417,
Doctrine of Faith 21) We are reminded time and again that we do not know all
that goes on in the life of a person. For example, we encounter the principle
that “what is interior possesses thousands of things which are seen in the
exterior only as a simple whole.” (Arcana Coelestia 5707)
Beneath the surface is a world of hopes and dreams, memories, traumas,
insecurities, strengths, weaknesses and the like – much of which we do not see.
(See also Conjugial Love 531) For all these reasons, we are called to embrace a
charitable attitude toward others, which consists of “wanting what is best for
them and being of benefit to them.” (True Christian Religion 413)
What does all this imply with regard to our response to individuals within
the same-sex context? In these relationships, as with all others, these teachings
call us to interact with kindness,
compassion and understanding. T