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We gathered by boat to an open pavilion on the eastern shores of Georgian Bay for the Honey Harbour Summer church service. I had been invited to speak during the morning worship program. What to say?
The only Scripture I could get peace about was Romans 15:7 – “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”
I asked myself the question, which I shared with the lakeside congregation: How Did Christ Accept People? And that question opened some interesting lines of thought.
For example, Christ accepted individuals with a touch. He touched the leper and healed him. He put his fingers in the ears of a deaf man and the man was able to hear. He took a dead little girl by the hand and raised her back to life. He even took the calloused and filthy feet of his disciples in his hands. washed them and dried them with a towel. Maybe we need to learn afresh the art of Christian touch.
Jesus Christ made people welcome with words. “Neither do I condemn you,” he announced to a women caught in adultery. To another a very sick man he declared, “Your sins are forgiven.” And to that repentant thief crucified next to him, who asked to be remembered in some future kingdom, Christ promised, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Do we accept each other with the appropriate words just as Christ accepted us?
Finally, I reflected on the fact that Jesus Christ manifested his acceptance of people by eating with them. “This man receives sinners,” the do-gooders complained, “and he eats with them.” Even when a religious leader invited him to dinner, Jesus gladly shared a meal with him and his cronies in order to challenge him with the grand message of forgiveness. He still pleads, “If anyone hears my voice and opens their door to my knocking, I will come in and eat with them and they will eat with me.” The simple sharing of a meal, breaking bread together, offers the great welcome of “table fellowship.” With whom have you broken bread recently as an act of acceptance across racial, cultural, denominational or social barriers?
Christians are supposed to be disciples, clones of Christ Jesus. I’m convicted by Romans 15:7. Aren’t you?
Alan Adams - Return to Simple Church 
it seems these days that a lot of people expect disapproval, judgement and even condemnation from the church. It’s too bad we can’t always see the difference between acceptance and approval. I’m often deeply saddened to find that those who don’t know God get an ugly picture of him from people who claim to follow Jesus.
Comment by Peter Goodyear — August 22, 2011 @ 8:21 pm
Match this verse to Eph 1:6, “He has made us accepted in the beloved.”
Comment by Bob Bedford — August 22, 2011 @ 8:22 pm
In everything he did it was with simplicity, no big hoppla , no fancy ceremonys , no grand parades, yet everything he touched , spoke, and did brought such great results . We as a church need to get back to the simple things and step out of our big, fancy, grand ideas and get back to following his lead, keep it honest and simple .
Comment by Randy Raynard — August 22, 2011 @ 8:49 pm
If God is satisfied with His beloved Son as the appropriate basis for accepting such messed up humans as we are, why can’t we Christians simply claim the same Lord Jesus as our basis for reaching beyond our comfort zone to embrace those who are different to us? I was drawn to the Romans 15:7 text after seeing the new movie THE HELP.
Comment by Alan Adams — August 22, 2011 @ 8:50 pm
I been enjoying reading your blog, and I agree we (as Christians) need to be open to accepting others, even others it maybe difficult to find common ground with. I like the comment from the poster earlier who said we often confuse acceptance with approval, how true!
I have struggled with this my whole life as I have been “scolded” for hanging out with non-christians. How can I accept them if I haven’t met them?? I truly think we need to move out of our seperate and insular world and connect honestly, openly and transparently with people where they are at.
Comment by Lisa — August 22, 2011 @ 11:16 pm
Lisa….right on….Jesus received sinners and ate with them….and we ought to do the same, so long as we’re willing to do it just as He did: (a) in the empowerment and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and (b) as we have opportunity, to share with them what we have learned about God.
Comment by Alan Adams — August 23, 2011 @ 8:32 am