Organizing the Inside – Day 221 Acceptance, The Loving Path

April 11, 2012 at 11:30 am · Filed under Encouragement, Faith, Inspiration, Love, Relationship, Wisdom, Women's Ministry and tagged: Christ, Christianity, Forgiveness

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:13 (NLT)

After taking a personality test, weaknesses I thought were long gone were exposed. I hid the fact that I had problems balancing my expectations of others.  The same judgmental measuring stick I used on myself, I also used on everyone else. My expectations for myself and others remained in the consistently unattainable stratosphere of my mistaken belief. While removing planks from both my own eyes, I was happy to consult others on their multiple eye obstructions as well. Being a self-ordained plank remover was a tiring and emotionally exhausting existence. Also read Matthew 7:1-5

You first must accept yourself.
Accepting yourself is a prerequisite for being able to fully accept and love others. Yep, that’s tough to swallow because who doesn’t have the occasional moment of “I wonder if I’m good enough?” Nevertheless realizing that Christ’s finished work on Calvary, means we are all “good enough” will change your life. Seeing you the way that God sees you is paramount to successfully fulfilling His plan. I don’t believe you can fully give of yourself until you know and accept yourself. Although he was crucified in weakness, he now lives by the power of God. We, too, are weak, just as Christ was, but when we deal with you we will be alive with him and will have God’s power. 2 Corinthians 13:4 (NLT) It is not uncommon to wonder about your abilities, everyone has, but that (self-doubt) too must be crucified along with the flesh. You must accept God’s amazing grace and power realizing that even if you were the only sinner, Christ would have still given His life. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6 (NIV) God has called us to love others and not judge them. We have the responsibility as Christian women to walk in love and unconditionally accept the faults of others. When you find yourself feeling just a bit irritated by someone else’s short comings, or unsuitable behavior, opt-out of the judgment seat, and choose love instead. It’s the same unconditional love that Christ has toward us, which has healing properties that will help close the deepest wounds, and mend broken lives.

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