Accept Others

We had dinner with friends last night to celebrate birthdays...and it was a double date...first time we have had one of those in years. Such fun...and such a special time to visit. I wish that I could say that I was the one who orchestrated it....but I am not too good at planning. We caught up on families and travels, and talked of good times we have had in the past and the good times we look forward to ahead.Then the guys kind of got on their topics and we girls turned to ours. Do you have one of those friends who just is wise in her ways? One who so many times sees things through a clearer lens than you do. She made a generic statement that was not relative to any one person that said...."we are old enough now to recognize people for who they are and what they are...and we have a choice either we accept them or we move on....but changing them is not an option."

How many times do I try to change someone into acting or behaving or responding or communicating like I do. I do it with my family...with my friends...and even try convincingly sometimes to alter the attitude or way of a total stranger. We each are built with different bents...different personalities and different ways to manage and handle things. And that is a good thing because really how boring would it be if we all were robotic beings with no emotion, no variety, and no ability to make choices....just activated to move around in productive mode. As I thought more about what she said...I realized that it is the differences that often times give a relationship its strength...for through them we learn acceptance, compromise, and humility...and make a conscious effort to determine if it is worth the efforts to keep the relationship in tact....or not. Differences in opinions teach us how to grow and evaluate new perspectives....and they also stir up the need for patience and understanding. It is easy to be friends with someone who is so on your same page...but it is harder when there is a division relative to how one sees things differently from someone else.

Relationships are important to Christ...after all...he wanted so much to have a relationship with us that he took a hit for us that no one else was in a position to do.....a position of holy, faultless excellence....all for our benefit....and through his love for us. It sounds really trite to say we should love our neighbors as ourselves. We hear it all the time ...but really...don't we so many times love our neighbors conditionally; if they are nice, if they are on our page, if they have something to offer, if we are involved in the same things, and if there is a common thread of interest that runs through our lives? It is harder to love them when they disagree with our tactics or our logic, or our ways...our lifestyle or our opinions. But that is just what we are called to do. To find a common path....to seek the patience required to get along, to be understanding and try to not be so pigheaded and stubborn. If someone makes you crazy then you have to decide to let them be just who they are....and change how "you" relate to them.

Christ loves each of us unconditionally...no gimmicks, no conditions, no requirements. Just pure unadulterated honest love....because we are his children. And that is what he is trying to teach us to do with others. I know that when I cause a ruckus or get my nose our of joint over an insignificant
issue that I need to reconsider my approach. I forget to approach it with a loving sense of respect and understanding because I am too busy seeing whatever it is MY way...and am leaving Jesus' way on the back burner. I tried using Jesus' way yesterday in a tough situation with a friend...and it worked...I suspect it works all the time...either it changes me, allowing me to alter my perspective or changes the tempo of the disagreement. Christ's way is about unity, and getting along and loving others. And as my friend so wisely said last night...I am old enough to recognize people for who they are and what they are...they are each valued individuals who have been created just as they are, with personalities just as they are, with gifts just as they are for God's purposes just as they are. Either I try to learn from them...what God is trying to teach me about loving others....even when they are no so lovable...or let it go and move on without intent to try restructure their attitudes or ways. That is not my place but God's. I know that their are exceptions like raising children etc....but even then we have to try to figure out how to guide them into seeking out their best for God's glory. Isn't that too what God wants all of us to strive for? To use the tools he has given us to be the best we can for His glory?

I chose this verse because I think the word "Honor" carries great significance....in how we treat others...it speaks of respect and humility and appreciation for a fellow man...and takes the spotlight off of ourselves!

Romans 12:10
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Christ accepts us just as we are....because he knows that within each of us lies great potential...it takes time and he has got the time to mold us and build us and transform us....and help us to truly love ourselves...and appreciate who he has created us to be. We are loved...with an unbounded love that none of us can imagine.... and when we allow Christ the freedom to guide us according to his will. He will teach us to love our neighbors, our families, and our friends and even the strangers that he puts before us......HIS WAY....in spite of the differences that we may have.

Dear Lord, Thank you for our differences and for the variety of personalities that we are a part of. Help us to remember that if we want change in someone else that that change most often has to begin within ourselves through your loving efforts. Make us mindful Lord that we are all your children created in your image to glorify you in all we do....in the relationships that you have brought before us....but most especially in the relationship that we have with you! Amen

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!


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