Building a Community of Acceptance
Colossians 3:12-14
Colossians 3:12-14 (New American Standard Bible)
12So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
13bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
14Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
His name is Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college. He is kind of esoteric and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college.
Across the street from the campus is a church, the members of which are well-dressed and very conservative. They want to develop a ministry to the students but are not sure how to go about it.
One day Bill decides to visit that church. He walks in wearing his jeans, T-shirt, wild hair, and no shoes and starts down the center aisle looking for a place to sit. The church is completely packed, and he can’t find a seat. The members look a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything. Bill gets closer and closer to the pulpit, and when he realizes that there are no seats left, he just sits down on the carpet.
By now the members are really uptight; tension fills the air.
Then, from the back of the church, a deacon slowly makes his way toward Bill. Now in his eighties, the deacon has silver-gray hair, a three-piece suit, and a pocket watch. He’s a godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walks with a cane, and as he heads toward Bill all the members are saying to themselves, “You can’t blame him for what he’s going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and background to understand a college kid on the floor?”
It takes a long time for the old man to get down the aisle. All eyes are focused on him. The church is utterly silent. The minister can’t even begin preaching until the deacon does what he has to do. When he reaches the front, the congregation watches as he, with great difficulty, lowers himself and sits down next to Bill so he won’t be alone.
When the minister gains control of himself, he says, “What I’m about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget.”
Acceptance! We all crave it, we all desire it, but we are not as quick to give it. Each of us wants people who will care for us, people who will stand for us in bad times. We want people who will accept us instead of criticizing and judging us. I want that! So do you! So does the community that surrounds us.
People are looking for acceptance. A place where they are free to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes, and grow from them. That’s the kind of place the church should be! It’s the kind of place that Christ intended for the church to be, though you and I know that often that is not the case. If we are going to truly become a community church we have to learn how to be accepting of that community.
And I’m excited because I see this church becoming that kind of place; where discouraged, heartbroken people find strength and healing, where confused people find help and guidance, where people weighed down with sin find forgiveness and relief. When we become this kind of church lives will be changed and we will see the love of God flowing around us in abundance.
People will see that something is different at that old church on Peninsula Drive, they will see that we care about people. They will see that we love people. They will see that it’s not just a religious doctrine, or an obligation, but rather a blessing for us to reach out to our community and lend a hand. They will see that it is not about a program or a class, but it’s about a “who”. It’s about Christ who loved us, therefore we love others.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." – John 13:34-35
In the days when the great evangelist Moody was preaching in Chicago, a man, partially under the influence of liquor, seeing the warm lights of Moody’s tabernacle, staggered up the steps to the front door. Upon opening it, he saw no one within, but he did see the motto hanging above the pulpit: “God Is Love.” The man slammed the door, staggered down the steps, and muttered to himself, “God is love? God is not love. If God were love, He would love me, and He hates me.”
He continued his uneven walk around the block, still muttering to himself. But those words began to burn images into his benumbed thinking. A power seemed to draw him back to the tabernacle. With the throngs that were now making their way into the tabernacle, he soon found himself seated inside, and Mr. Moody was preaching.
The sermon over, Moody made his way to the door to shake hands with the people as they left. But this man didn’t leave. He continued to sit in his seat, weeping. Moody came over to him, put his arm on the man’s shoulder, and asked, “Is there something that I can do for you? What was it in my sermon that touched your heart?”
“Oh, Mr. Moody, I didn’t hear a word that you spoke tonight,” the man responded. “It’s those words up there over your pulpit—‘God Is Love.’”
Moody sat down and talked with him for a while, and soon he gave his heart to Moody’s God.
Friend, God is love. All His ways and acts are love.
Until we love our community unconditionally, as God loves us, then we will never be a true community church. The most powerful argument for our faith is not the eloquence of our preacher, or the slickness of our brochure, but it is the evidence of our love. If we love this community, it will be noticed, and the community will respond.
Verse 13 says “bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. “ It says in Ephesians “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. – Ephesians 4:2-3”
To bear with one another means sometimes turning a blind eye to each other’s faults. It means being quick to praise, and slow to criticize. We will from time to time find the people in our community to be less than ideal. When that time comes, we must make every effort to accept them where they are and show them Christ through love.
Does this mean we pretend that things are not wrong? No, we don’t pretend, we simply choose to overlook things. Or more precisely we choose not to make a big deal about it. We choose not to gossip about , we choose not to nit-pick about it, we choose not to mount a crusade to change them. We present them the truth of Gospel, and allow GOD to change them. We have enough keeping our own lives straight, that we really don’t have time to straighten out someone else’s life.
To build community, we don’t waste our time pointing out the many ways those in our community falls short of ideal. We choose instead to treat them with patience, kindness, compassion, gentleness, and love.
Nor do we judge others. It is not our place to judge, but that is the place of God. James 4:11-12 says11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister[a] or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
I was shocked, confused, bewildered
as I entered Heaven’s door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
by the lights or its decor.
But it was the folks in Heaven
who made me sputter and gasp--
the thieves, the liars, the sinners,
the alcoholics, the trash.
There stood the kid from seventh grade
who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
who never said anything nice.
Herb, who I always thought
was rotting away in hell,
was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
looking incredibly well.
I nudged Jesus, "What’s the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How’d all these sinners get up here?
God must’ve made a mistake.
And why’s everyone so quiet,
so somber? Give me a clue."
"Hush, child," said He "They’re all in shock.
No one thought they’d see you."
Judge NOT
Only God has the right to judge, when we take on the position of Judge, we are taking on the position of God. I can only speak for myself, but I’m here to tell you that I’m NOT QUALIFIED to be God! I suspect you probably are not either.
Conclusion:
“. Are you going to try to compare God to ice cream now? "No," actually I am going to compare you, and I, to ice cream! Is that better? I have a real "need" for the sweet confection "ice cream" and any thing to do with it. I love cones, sandwiches, sundaes, sodas, etc. Actually, you name it; I will eat it. Especially if it has chocolate in it some where! I was thinking about this, and came up with the following thought or "parable" perhaps. I guess it depends on how you look at it.
The first ice cream was vanilla, per-se, with fruit or nuts added to it. It was nothing more than frozen snow actually. Time and the inventive nature of man created our well loved delectable flavors of today. We have gone from Vanilla, to an extraordinary array of flavors and added ingredients. They put, candy, nuts, cookie dough, cookies, syrup, fruit, or what ever you can imagine into ice cream today. Then add up all the crazy flavors out there. Vanilla is only one; there is chocolate, strawberry, coffee, butter pecan etc. The list goes on and on. Now add the extras to the flavors, and you have an endless supply of wild treats to tantalize the pallet. That my dear sweet Beloved is us!
God started out with one flavor. He produced it very carefully. Full of flavor and body. Then He realized it was lonely, so He created another flavor to complement the first. As time went on, the flavors became increasingly diversified, and so did the added ingredients. Now, I, just like so many others, tend to have preferences as to the flavors I will try. I am open to some stuff, and willing to try new taste experiences, as long as they are not too extreme. Problem with that is, I do not always have the best taste bud experiences I really could have. By picking and choosing the "right" flavor and additives, I narrow myself to only certain savory tastes. I actually cheat myself, so to say, of all that God has for me. If I don’t like the way something looks or smells, I will not even try it. Later I may find it was an exquisite flavor that I missed out on.
Once in awhile, I’ll have the chance to try it again. Usually I will the second time, if only out of curiosity. Most times, I find it is wonderful, and I kick myself for being afraid to try it sooner. Hey, the thought of "bubble gum" in my ice cream did not thrill me, but the taste I found was wonderful, once I got past the eye gate to the mouth gate. Well friends, we are all ice cream that God has created. Some may be plain vanilla, but to God, they are "Primo," deluxe vanilla!
I think the main thing we need to keep in mind is that no one is the same flavor. No one. We all have different things added to us or mixed into us. However, we all started from the same source. If we turn to the chocolate and say, "I am not about to accept that flavor at all," we rob our selves of the wonderful diversity/unity of the body of Christ. If God had wanted us to all be Vanilla, we would have. However, He choose to produce many varieties and flavors through out the body, to give us each, a taste of the wonderful variety, of another’s different flavor. It is the differences that make us unique and so wonderful. The differences of opinions and ideas. The differences in speech and actions. The differences in personalities, colors, backgrounds, and heritage, are what make us strong, not weak. We are all of the same Spirit.
Next time another believer in Jesus rubs you the wrong way, or acts differently, try to keep ice cream in mind. God made that flavor just the way it is! It has no right to try to be any other flavor or mixture. In addition, we have no right to try to add our own ingredients to it, to "improve" its taste. Let’s welcome the differences and flavors of each other as God intended us to be. Maybe if we do, we just might finally come to that "Unity" of the Spirit that God so wanted us to attain.”
© Robyn Cavalera robyajesusfreak@bellsouth.net
To be a true community church we must accept others with the differences that they bring. It begins with love!
