ACCEPT, TOLERATE, LOVE -- Devotional for May 29, from "Good Seeds"

Wherefore, let us accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us, to the glory of God. (Romans 15:7)

Of all the “one anothers” of the Bible, this one is probably the most foundational. Someone might say, “But wait, what about ‘LOVE one another?’ Isn’t love the starting point of all relationships?” I would have to agree with that, of course, but love is not only “a many splendored thing,” it is also a multi-faceted thing. And the first face of love I see is when someone accepts me, just as I am, with all my warts and lumps, all my dirty sins and secrets. But this verse immediately goes beyond mere moralizing by bringing our Savior into the picture. Just as God commands us in the Old Testament: “Be ye holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44), so Jesus implores us in the New Testament: “Accept one another – after all, have not I accepted you?” It’s no good trying to love someone, especially someone who may be extremely difficult to love, if we don’t take love's first step, which is acceptance. Another word for this is tolerance. To tolerate someone we must start by admitting what makes him different, and what irritates us about him: his idiosyncrasies, oddities, habits, or even his beliefs! The word admit here has two meanings, both of which must come into play in the process of acceptance: Admit means 1) to recognize as true, as in, “Did you take the last cookie?” “Yes, I confess – I admit it.” But admit also can mean, b) to accept, to receive, like when you are granted admittance to the college of your choice. To accept someone means I grant him his space, maybe right next to me, on the planet! I tolerate him by first seeing what separates us, but then I try to see what adjustments I can make, or actions I can take, to live with, or deal with, our differences. To accept someone I frankly just can't stand DOES NOT mean I have to like him, agree with him, or go along with him. But it DOES mean I acknowledge him as a fellow creature of God, and therefore deserving of the respect from me that he already has from his Creator. But if I am convinced he is wrong in his thinking, or that his present course of action will lead him to destruction, accepting him may mean going into action on his behalf. But wait! Trying to fix or change him starts to look a lot like I no longer accept him! But praying God’s mercy and grace to visit him would not stop me from accepting him, tolerating him – yes, even loving him – just as he is right now. Is it true that God accepts us just the way we are, and yet loves us too much to let us stay that way, when we could be and do so much better? Yes. And if He looks at us that way, why shouldn’t we do the same for someone else – for the glory of God!