Acceptance
“Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.” Romans 14:1 (The Message)
Acceptance, we all want it. In one form or another we all want to feel wanted and even needed. The world can be a cold hard place, sometimes void of any love, but if we look at Scripture it seems that the church is one place we should feel accepted. However, if we’re brutally honest, this is not always the case.
I have spoken to quite a few people who say they have been put off the whole “church thing” by the people in the church; I.E. attending church services and not made to feel welcome by the congregation. Perhaps it was their limited understanding or their background or the clothes they wear. The truth is some churches do not excel in the acceptance department. But this is nothing new.
Samuel Colgate (1822-1897), the founder of the Colgate business empire, was a devout Christian. On occasion he would recount the following incident that took place in the church he attended…
During an evangelistic service, an invitation was given at the close of the sermon for all those who wished to turn their lives over to Christ and be forgiven. One of the first persons to walk down the aisle and kneel at the altar was a well-known prostitute. She knelt in very real repentance, she wept, she asked God to forgive her, and meanwhile the rest of the congregation looked on approvingly at what she was doing. Then she stood and testified that she believed God had forgiven her for her past life, and she now wanted to become a member of the church.
For a few moments, the silence was deafening. Finally, Samuel Colgate arose and said, “I guess we blundered when we prayed that the Lord would save sinners. We forgot to specify what kind of sinners. We’d better ask him to forgive us for this oversight. The Holy Spirit has touched this woman and made her truly repentant, but the Lord apparently doesn’t understand that she’s not the type we want him to rescue. We’d better spell it out for him just which sinners we had in mind.”
Immediately, a motion was made and unanimously approved that the woman be accepted into membership in the congregation.
Isn’t it good to know that God accepts people just as they are, regardless of who they are; mother, father, teacher, prostitute, lawyer, murderer, or whatever, and wherever they might be. God doesn’t expect people to come to Him all “Christianized” and “churchified”, and there’s not a sin too black, not a deed too awful, not a thought too horrible for him to forgive. The truth is He finds people where they are, and then begins to walk slowly, but surely with them through this journey called life.
As Christians we know all the right words, and most of us have a plethora of “Christianese” phrases on tap, ready to spew out at a moments notice. But do we put any weight behind what we say… or pray. Let us in the light of Romans 14:1 continually pray that God will save the lost and hurting of this world. And let us not be surprised or shocked when he brings people of all ilks, people from all walks of life into our churches, and into our lives.
Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
October, 2008
Image by Sanja Gjenero
