Organizing the Inside – Day 230 God’s Gift Of Acceptance

April 20, 2012 at 3:00 pm · Filed under Encouragement, Inspiration, Love, Relationship, Wisdom, Women's Ministry and tagged: Love of God, Religion and Spirituality, Witnessing

5May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. 6Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.
Romans 15:5-7 (NLT)

Love is accepting of others.
Your boss is a kind man, but you only wish he’d stop wearing those brightly colored ties that always seem to make him look more like a clown than a serious businessman. You’re certain you’ll call a special meeting to correct this behavior, if he wears that orange and purple floral tie one more time. You thought about informing your girlfriend about how much you despise the way she takes far too long to choose between the salmon or the grilled chicken with her salad. Take a moment to reconsider.

Changing others is not what we’re called to do. The Holy Spirit is the teacher and God is the changer. He alone is the one who has the authority to determine what change if any is needed. Even when your heart is well-intended by trying to improve your boss’s appearance or end your friend’s indecisiveness, speaking up could cause harm to the relationship. Is this problem going to hurt or put someone in imminent danger? I highly doubt a psychedelic tie or an extra wait before placing an order will place anyone’s life in danger.

Acceptance is a better option.
Accepting and caring for others instead of controlling them, shows the love of God. Embracing the uniqueness of those around us will help expose them to the things of God. If we are always trying to change people, they may never experience the joy of receiving the gift of acceptance. Within each of us as human beings is a longing to be accepted. As children we wanted to be among the first picked to play on teams. In adulthood many of us are still seeking acceptance as we daily check in on Facebook to count the likes.

God’s acceptance of us.
Although many who’ve walked with the Lord have come to know the warmth, and security of His unconditional love, there are those who are still searching. By allowing others to be who they are we aren’t making provisions for wrongdoing, we are simply accepting them as they are. God didn’t expect us to clean up and get saved, before He saved us and cleaned us up. He reached down and pulled us out of sin.  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (KJV)

Ease up on your suggestions for improvement. I suspect this is a slight character flaw that improves as we grow in grace. While having the unique ability to see what is wrong can be a tremendous strength in business and problem solving, this same strength tends to create a weakness in relationships. God gave man dominion over the earth, not over each other. …and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Genesis 1:26 (KJV)

Trying to change others only adds stress and makes life complicated.  A great  way to simplify your life is to seek God’s help with whatever is happening on the inside that causes a tie or indecisive friend to be so irritating. Meanwhile, why not give the loving gift of acceptance, and avoid the temptation of trying to change others?

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