Come As You Are

Accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.

“When we first went, I didn’t have anything to wear other than ripped jeans. I didn’t own a dress,” my mom recalled about the days she and my dad first started attending church together in the late 1970s.

“We were accepted, just as we were. And we were a little rough,” she added with a laugh. “But the people at the church loved us so well. We really grew in our faith during that time.”

I smiled as I recalled those formative years of my childhood. I too remembered that little country church and the people who attended—bankers and convicts, former addicts and stay-at-home moms—all sitting together, joining in worship because of the acceptance and love they’d found in Jesus. It wasn’t always easy, and sometimes people’s lives still got a little messy, but the love that flowed was evident and transformative to all who showed up at their doors.

Not everyone has had a church experience like my family did when I was young. I’ve been in other church communities that weren’t as loving or inviting, and I’ve heard plenty of stories of people who’ve been hurt. Although their feelings are valid, that’s simply not the way it should be. In Christ, we are to accept one another because Christ has accepted each one of us. And when we do this, people outside (and inside) our church walls notice and are drawn in, and ultimately, God gets the glory.

If you’ve been hurt by a church or a faith community, don’t lose hope. God’s design is one of inclusion for each one of us. Keep searching, asking God to lead you, and he will bring you to people and a community who will love you and accept you, just as you are.

Kendra

Today’s Act of Gratitude

Who do you know that may be an outsider who needs to be included in a faith community? Reach out and let that person know you care.