Romans 15:7 – Accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.
While we accept each other as we are, we do not remain as we are. As each one comes to Christ, forgiveness and acceptance are given by the Father. We then become part of one another on the very common ground of His power of love to forgive and accept each one as we are. For each believer, this is the starting point in Christ Jesus.
From this starting point, we grow together in an atmosphere of love, hope, and encouragement, no matter what difficulty or devastation we face. Of course, people enter the kingdom of God and are baptized into the body having come from many backgrounds. Our life together in the body begins a process of healing and growth which can take a very long time. An atmosphere of love, forgiveness, and acceptance is necessary to help in assisting people to receive, what in many cases has never before been communicated or experienced.
In the body of Christ, we esteem the covenant of marriage, we honor singleness, and we support the single parent. Marriage is under attack as perhaps it has never been before. The marriage covenant is the sure foundation we must build upon. If the marriage foundation is destroyed, the whole culture will collapse. We must first learn how to love, forgive, and accept in our homes before we will be successful in our relationships within the church.
We must reach out to singles, who many times feel displaced from family. The single person can more fully give themselves to the cause of Christ because of less time constraints. Many singles would love to be used within the family of God, both in church activities and within families belonging to a congregation.
It is important for the church body to give support to those who have found themselves single again through divorce or death. Many times, we form groups of people with similar life experiences, but their deeper need is family. They need to know the love of fathers and mothers within the body of Christ.
We must treasure and affirm children, including them in our worship, in our ministry moments, and social events. They are our future! The Lord has always been focused on the generations. Our children will carry the torch in the future. Now is the time of their training.
In the body of Christ we will always find diversity of personality and lifestyles, each adding something valuable to the whole. I suggest including each group I have mentioned in your prayers.
Father, I pray for the families of my congregation, fathers and mothers and their children, that Your kingdom rest on their lives. I pray for the singles as they seek to know how they fit into the family of God. I pray for those who have found themselves single again. I pray for healing in their lives and for the development of healthy relationships.
2 Corinthians 3:18 – We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
While we are to accept each other as we are, we do not remain as we are. The Spirit of God is at work bringing change as Scripture reveals. The change into Christ’s image is an expression of God’s love to the world. You are sent to others as a love letter from God. The Father accepts us just as we are, but He is also at work to change us to be like Him. The change happens in the context of family and as we interact with those who are yet unreached for God’s kingdom.
Acceptance does not promote sin. Acceptance empowers people to risk facing and confessing their sin and moves us toward wholeness. It is important to realize that each person has the right to become who God intended them to be. At the same time, we must guard against selfishness, always putting the interest of family before the interests of individuals. Acceptance and opportunity to grow is what each of us needs most in life.
Our understanding of God’s will for the body of Christ is not centered around buildings or religious activities, but family relationships and environment—a relationship with God as Father, Jesus as our elder brother, and the Holy Spirit as the one who nurtures us by revealing the Father and Son in greater depths. Our commitment in Christ is to other believers to whom we have been joined. They are to be seen as our brothers and sisters in His family. As members of His family, we extend His love and power to the world. Our life in a church family is expressed in multi-dimensional relationships.
The writer of Hebrews gives clear instruction concerning our relationships within the body of Christ. “Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all men, and sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble” (Hebrews 12:12-15). What wonderful counsel for each member of the family of God.
Father, I ask for the Holy Spirit to work in my life that I never come short of the grace of God in any of my relationships. Give to me a love for family as You love family, both natural and spiritual family. Help me to nurture each relationship that You have given me and use others to bring change in my life for Your glory.