It has happened
before. In fact I have experienced this
same thing many times since our church began.
And when it does my heart is lifted almost like I can hear all the
angels of heaven singing the praise of God.
It really is awesome.
Here is how it goes. A young man walks into the church. He has been here a few times before and has
connected with a few people. No one, at
least almost no one, knows his story or the pain he has been going
through. But on this day the pain has
gone to a level he can’t take any more.
In the next hour he opens his heart, shares his story and begins to feel
relief because of the peace of God.
Romans 15:7 NLT
Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted
you so that God will be given glory.
We don’t agree on all he
has done. I don’t even understand all he
has been through, but what this young man experienced today is the love of God
by being accepted by another human being.
He doesn’t feel judged or put down.
Someone has simply joined him where he is and begun to share life with
him.
It is the job and the
responsibility of followers of Jesus to accept the people we meet. We aren’t to judge or to put them down. We aren’t to compare their wrong with our
right or to become self-righteous. It is
our responsibility and privilege to extend the acceptance that God has given
us.
The Community Fellowship
chose when we began to practice what is important to us and what God has put on
our hearts. That is to ACCEPT people
as they are and where they are. God
doesn’t say we have to change to come to Him.
God doesn’t tell us to go put on a dress or a suit so that we can
interact with Him.
Matthew 11:28 NLT
Then Jesus
said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary
and carry heavy burdens, and I
will give you rest.
It was an honor to let this guy see faith lived out. Yes, he heard about God’s love for him. He heard that where he has been doesn’t
define who he is and doesn’t have to destine him for failure or even more
pain. We talked at length about human
nature and how life seems to crumble around us when we miss great things and
the truth God has for us.
Accepting people as they are means that we treat people the
way God has treated us. I pray that each
of us will find people who need to find God.
I pray that as we meet these people that we will accept them. No questions asked. No strings attached. Just the love of God in living color as we
accept people as they are.
NOTE: This Sunday we begin a brand new series at The
Community called I LOVE COMMUNITY,
and we will examine how God calls each of us to be the church and to love
people. I can’t wait to see what God
does through each of us.
NOTE: The picture above is of the new pope and a young disabled American boy. This story caught my attention and my heart.
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