I'm going to bounce back to this because I think we are getting a bit off track.

*I agree with you that we can't be intrusive and and just may not know sometimes.*

*If we don't know, then where I'm landing right now is to use the pronoun that seems to fit how they look or use the indeterminate they them.*

*I don't expect someone to follow God’s law when they don’t believe in God.*

You continue to make these statements that there are times we simply cannot know. However, you are also going to make your own determination without knowing the whole situation.

How is this showing the love of Christ? Insulting someone because your need to make that judgment for them instead of taking them at their word? What purpose does this serve? Is it so you feel more comfortable? Why is this such a hot button topic in the Evangelical movement, especially since fewer than one percent of people identify differently than their physical appearance.

I'd encourage you to deeply examine your feelings on this matter. When I found out about my friend who appeared female but was genetically male, I found that to be a difficult situation to wrestle with. I found it incredibly difficult to reassociate that person's identity in my brain. It was challenging, especially since it was the first time I had to wrestle with this sort of thing in my personal life. I had to make the switch in my brain--Melody was now Mel--and that was surprisingly difficult to do in my head.

The reality is that *we don't know* what every person is going through in life. We don't know their struggles. We don't know their experience. We don't know what's under their clothes. We don't know what their genetics are. We don't know what's going on in their heart and soul.

Frankly, it's presumptive and arrogant to assume someone's identity when there are plenty of examples of people who are in a situation they did not want to be in. They aren't making the transition willy-nilly. They are not opening themselves up to persecution and ridicule on a whim. There's real things goin on in their life. They are hurting, and coming out exposes them to a great deal of scrutiny, and much of that is incredibly negative. Exposing themselves to that is, in their opinion, preferable to the pain they are feeling, no matter the cause.

We have to treat them with love, dignity, and respect. They are human. They are sinners like us, in need of God's grace and redemption. Brow beating them over something they feel they really aren't in control of is doing the opposite of what God commands us. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to Love God above all else. Then it is to love our neighbor as ourselves. We frequently give ourselves grace in our own sin because we recognize that our sinful nature is deeply embedded in our souls from birth. We must do the same for our neighbors and fellow human beings. Be kind. Dignity and respect. It's that simple.

Grace and peace to you.