Setting Differences Aside

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

Romans 15:7

IT’S PRETTY EASY TO be accepting on a social networking site. Wanna be friends? No big deal. Click the button. No muss, no fuss. Of course, many of those friends are probably not close friends at all but are merely acquaintances and well-wishers. You don’t really have to accept them, warts and all.

But the clarion call of Scripture is to accept other Christians as they are, not as we might wish they were. And the idea behind the word accept is really more active than passive—it is the idea of “take by faith.” Just as we accept salvation by faith, we are to accept other Christians by faith. Among other things, this means we don’t see them just for who they are now but also for who they will become as God continues to work in their lives.

Sure, some Christians are quite different from you. They come from different backgrounds and see life differently. But at one time, you were on the outside looking in too. And yet you were accepted into God’s family by faith. Offer to others the same kind of grace you’ve received.

Occasionally, you still see this sign outside a business: “No shirt, no shoes, no service.” Wouldn’t it be great if the sign hanging on your heart said to all around you, “Come Just As You Are”? That kind of grace attracts people. It also pleases your heavenly Father, who offers the same grace to you.

BOTTOM LINE

Be a grace giver. Ask God to help you see and accept others the way He does.

Moment of Strength: James 2:1-4