So you think The Bible wants you to throw your LGBT child out on the streets ?

1 Timothy 5:8

New International Version
Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

New Living Translation
But those who won't care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.

English Standard Version
But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

New American Standard Bible
But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

King James Bible
But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But if anyone does not provide for his own, that is his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

International Standard Version
If anyone does not take care of his own relatives, especially his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

NET Bible
But if someone does not provide for his own, especially his own family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
For if a man does not take care of those who are his own, especially those who are members of the household of faith, this one has renounced the faith and is worse than those who are unbelievers.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
If anyone doesn't take care of his own relatives, especially his immediate family, he has denied the Christian faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Jubilee Bible 2000
But if any provide not for his own and specially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

King James 2000 Bible
But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.

American King James Version
But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

American Standard Version
But if any provideth not for his own, and specially his own household, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But if any man have not care of his own, and especially of those of his house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

Darby Bible Translation
But if any one does not provide for his own, and specially for those of [his] house, he has denied the faith, and is worse than the unbeliever.

English Revised Version
But if any provideth not for his own, and specially his own household, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.

Webster's Bible Translation
But if any provideth not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

Weymouth New Testament
But if a man makes no provision for those dependent on him, and especially for his own family, he has disowned the faith and is behaving worse than an unbeliever.

World English Bible
But if anyone doesn't provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.

Young's Literal Translation
and if any one for his own -- and especially for those of the household -- doth not provide, the faith he hath denied, and than an unbeliever he is worse.

So instead of using The Bible to disguise your own homophobia, educate yourself about Coming Out.

“The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals. It's just that they need more supervision.” ~ Lynn Lavner

Evangelicals with Gay Children Challenging Church

In this Nov. 17, 2014 photo, Rob Robertson wipes away tears as he sits with his wife Linda while they visit the grave of their son, Ryan, in Issaquah, Wash. The couple, evangelical Christians, brought their son to "reparative therapy" when he came out to them as gay.  (Source:AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Rob and Linda Robertson did what they believed was expected of them as good Christians.

When their 12-year-old son Ryan said he was gay, they told him they loved him, but he had to change. He entered "reparative therapy," met regularly with his pastor and immersed himself in Bible study and his church youth group. After six years, nothing changed. A despondent Ryan cut off from his parents and his faith, started taking drugs and in 2009, died of an overdose.

"Now we realize we were so wrongly taught," said Rob Robertson, a firefighter for more than 30 years who lives in Redmond, Washington. "It's a horrible, horrible mistake the church has made."

The tragedy could have easily driven the Robertsons from the church. But instead of breaking with evangelicalism - as many parents in similar circumstances have done - the couple is taking a different approach, and they're inspiring other Christians with gay children to do the same. They are staying in the church and, in protesting what they see as the demonization of their sons and daughters, presenting a new challenge to Christian leaders trying to hold off growing acceptance of same-sex relationships.

"Parents don't have anyone on their journey to reconcile their faith and their love for their child," said Linda Robertson, who with Rob attends a nondenominational evangelical church. "They either reject their child and hold onto their faith, or they reject their faith and hold onto their child. Rob and I think you can do both: be fully affirming of your faith and fully hold onto your child."

It's not clear how much of an impact these parents can have. Evangelicals tend to dismiss fellow believers who accept same-sex relationships as no longer Christian. The parents have only recently started finding each other online and through faith-oriented organizations for gays and lesbians such as the Gay Christian Network, The Reformation Project and The Marin Foundation.

I Would Give Anything To Have My Son Back

Our close friends lost their son Cody at 2:30 Saturday morning. We had just sat in the hospital with them the night before, talking to Cody as he lay in a coma, and holding the family close as they faced the inevitable. He was 18.

Cody and our son David were friends from age ten, waging Nerf wars with unarmed sisters and playing video games while Cody had hour-long breathing treatments for his cystic fibrosis. “We have to play, Mom—Cody has to have his treatment” served as a free pass to many gaming hours.

Losing a child is the most intense grief, they say, because you never expect to bury your own child—it’s simply not part of any plan that makes sense.

I receive emails from parents so devastated about their gay child, they draw a line in the sand, they take action to drive their child into the closet or out the door. They tell their child to renounce their orientation, or lose the relationship. It’s a no win situation with the “best” choice to leave and never come back; the worst outcome is self-hatred, despair or suicide.

Not to become dramatic here, but Cody’s parents would give anything to have Cody back—anything at all. Gay, straight or any other way. For a parent to throw away a relationship with their child because they don’t approve of them, for whatever reason, strikes me as ungrateful and arrogant.

Please be grateful for your children. I don’t care what they’re doing or not doing—that is so not the point. Let Thanksgiving this week be the turning point in your relationship. Love them like God loves you, completely and unconditionally. Or as my wonderful friend Linda Robertson says, “Love them just because they breathe.”

However tempted you may be to ‘speak for God’ about your child’s sexuality, please don’t. That’s what I meant by arrogant. Instead of playing God by speaking for God, simply ask God. And be willing to hear that God may NOT change your LGBTQ child but may instead change you. As we have seen from Exodus and other so-called therapy, trying to change orientation not only doesn’t work but causes serious damage.

We don’t understand everything, and frankly no one said we should. But life is a gift. Children are a gift. At the end of life, we are amazed at how short life turned out to be, and all we want is to be with those we love.

Choose to love, choose to embrace, choose to let them be. In the end, you’ll find that the love was what mattered.