Tuesday: Accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. Romans 15:7 (NLT) Reflection: The first gift that Jesus offers you is also the first gift that He wants you to offer to those people you have to deal with… you remember them, the ones that have something seriously wrong with them? That gift is the gift of grace. Acceptance is the gift of radical acceptance and it feels great when we receive it but for some of us it can be difficult to give to other people. When I have a tough time giving grace to someone in my life I try my best to remember how much grace Jesus had to give me. When I first offered my life to Jesus I wasn’t much to look at. I had spent 3 ½ years throwing my life away and wasn’t sure all the preachers were right who said Jesus will always take me back. But I didn’t really have any other options. I was at the end of my rope. So one night I prayed a very simple prayer. I said to God, “if You really exist and if You really want my life then I’ll give it to You. And I’ll do what I already think I know that You want me to do, and do my best to learn the rest.” Then I waited. I was hoping for one of those Hollywood moments where the heavens part and light shines down into the darkness and angels descend playing harps. But I didn’t get a Hollywood moment. I got very little actually right at that moment. I wondered if I had been heard… and if I had maybe I had been rejected. But I had (been heard) and I hadn’t (been rejected). As I started taking baby steps towards the life I thought God wanted for me (often in the wrong direction even) God started blowing my mind with answered prayers and miracles that nobody else could see but I was constantly looking around wondering if anyone else was seeing this. I can’t prove to you that God exists (just like you can’t prove that He doesn’t)… but over the last 28 years God has absolutely proved to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is there and He cares about me. He offered me the gift of grace… He radically accepted me right where I was and loved me even though I had nothing to offer Him. Even though I had spent a good part of my life running from Him and living a life that had nothing to do with what He dreamed of when He created me. Even with all that God accepted me and welcomed me back into His family. Now He wants me to do the same for the people I come into contact with. He wants me to give grace… the gift of radical acceptance to the people in my life. Those who are easy to accept and (this is the really tough part) those who are totally unacceptable. What about influence you may be asking (I knew you’d be wondering about that…)? Well, we’ll talk about that tomorrow. For today let’s focus on acceptance and grace. How are you doing at giving grace to the people in your life? Not just the easy ones… but especially the tough ones. Prayer: Father, thank You so much for the gift of grace that you offer me. Thank You for accepting me just the way I am. Now I ask that you would give me the courage and strength to offer grace and radical acceptance to the people in my life. Show me how to become more like Jesus today by giving grace to even to the people who make my life harder. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 08:39:52 +0000
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