The gay marriage ruling came out, and as a Christian, I am sad.

They say that #LoveWon, but in all honesty--my Facebook timeline was flooded with hate more than anything. People posting comments like, “this country is going to hell” and throwing slurs and insults that I would not dare reiterate.

I am completely in favor of voicing one’s opinion, and I believe that everyone is entitled to having one. However, there is a HUGE difference between having an opinion and being plain hateful. I would not be sad if people just voiced their opposition to the ruling, but because their words come from such a place of hate under the façade of Christianity, their opposition hurts me.

Some of the very first friends that I made here at Cal are gay, some of closest friends that I used to have in high school are gay, I even have family members that are gay. I still go to church every weekend and treat them with the same respect and dignity that I would give to someone who was straight.

Don’t worry; here is where I bring some humor. People love to quote the Bible and claim that being gay is a huge sin, but you know what else is a sin? Pre-marital sex. Excuse me, but some of y’all have REALLY been taking a hands-on study approach to anatomy and physiology, way more than your teachers would have wanted you to.

My point is that we, as Christians, are not perfect. The one thing that saved us from our sins was agape; which is translated from Greek as “unconditional love.” That was the love that Jesus had for us when he took all of our sins to the cross and died. Our religion is not one that was built upon hate, but rather one that was built upon a love so great that God gave his one and only son.

Please do not think that all Christians are homophobic, because that is not true, despite the media making it appear so. That is not what Christianity is all about. Christianity is all about love and letting Love Win.