Previous Challenge Entry
Topic: Acceptance (01/12/04)
|
TITLE: The Bigger Picture By Trudy Orzio 01/19/04 |
 LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
SEND ARTICLE TO A FRIEND
|
When I was a little girl of three my older sisters who were suppose to be watching me sent me down the hill get rid of me with a story that an older lady had cookies. I was so excited I wanted even at that age for them to love me. I went down the hill and came back much to my sisters’ surprise with cookies. It seems that I have been venturing down hills all my life to bring back goodies for people to be accepted since.
When I meet people things go through my mind and I suppose little judgment calls. Is he dressed well? Is her makeup on right? Does he speak intelligently? Without even realizing it I have created little hoops people have to go through before I will accept them, the very thing I hate. I wonder if God has hoops for us to go through?
The writer Psalms 130 writes, “Lord, if you keep account of and treat all of us according to our sins, who of us could stand?” (Paraphrased) God does want us to repent, and accept His Son and I suppose you could call those hoops to jump through before He would accept you into His kingdom but God’s love is unconditional.
The writer’s of the Bible remind this. In 1John 4:20 it states that we love God because of He first loved us. He loved us before we loved him. He pursued us. Not because we were worthy no on the contrary the writer of Romans shares with us that while we were enemies of God He loved us and died for us.
I think there is much to be learned about accepting others. I know when others accept me open arms without pretension I am brought closer to God feeling it was He who gave them the love to do so. The writer of James has much to say about this “If you fulfill the scripture, ‘You shall love you others as yourself’, you do well: Having respect to some and not others merely on there looks is sin and violates God’s intentions for us.” (Paraphrased)
There is a bigger picture when I don’t accept based on trivial reasons I am disrespecting the very reason I am on earth and that is to share the love of God with others.
We are ambassadors of with a ministry of bringing others to Christ, to reconcile them back to God.
So the next time you are people watching at the mall and start criticizing someone’s outfit loudly, thinking how dumb they are remember that you are the one that may be missing an eternal opportunity to share the Lord with them.