Accept One Another

Several years ago my kids and I were binge-watching “Bad Lip Reading” videos on social media. One particular line from one of the NFL videos still gets a laugh around our home: “Orange peanut? Orange peanut for me? I accept you.”

Relational acceptance is more than a sugary snack. For the follower of Christ, accepting others is not just an option: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” (Romans 15:7). So, how do we do it? Paul offers us some pointers:

Accepting others requires patience (v. 1). We must be patient with those who are more restrictive in the “gray” areas of Christianity (note Romans 14) and with those who don’t change fast enough or who are rough around the edges.

Biblical teaching is the key to accepting others (v.4-5). Paul doesn’t sugar-coat the difficulty of accepting others; it can be discouraging. However, you CAN endure, and you CAN be encouraged through the teaching of scripture. That’s why it is critical to be consistent in church and in spending time reading God’s Word.

I can accept others because Christ accepted me (v.7). I once knew a group of senior men who met for breakfast every Friday. Though I was 30 years their junior, they invited me to be part of that group. One Friday I was sitting next to Ray, who had lost his wife several months prior. Part-way through breakfast, Ray started sharing memories of Dixie, and said through his tears, “I don’t know why she loved me so much.” Realizing that he had dropped an awkward silence on the table, he said, “I don’t know why God accepts me…why he doesn’t just punch me out.”

Friend, at the cross of Christ, Jesus was “punched out” so that you can be accepted by God…and so that you can accept others. The only way you will be able to accept people in your life who are totally different from you is to remember that you are SO different from God and, yet, He accepts you! Not only does he accept you, but He took on Himself all of the pain and discomfort it took to accept you and reconcile the difference between you and Him.

Prayer: ​​Father, remind me that I accept others because You have accepted me, and this brings praise to You.