Whether They're Near Or Far...

...Accept Them Where They Are.

Once again, another Sunday where the principal taught in Kidventure is HUGE (as in mega important, as in gotta get this, as in...well, you get the idea). And once again it reminds me of how God wants that truth to influence my actions (hence why I changed the title of my last post).

The point was this: Whether your friends/family/whoever is near to God or far from God, whether they have a relationship with Christ or don't...accept them where they are. (And just to avoid useless debate with anyone ---- no, that doesn't mean you condone sin or not act when a friend is heading down a horrible path.) But what this does mean is you don't expect a non-Christian to ACT like a Christian. It means you don't work on changing their bad habits and stuff until they have Spirit living inside them.

This is such a hot topic in the Bible Belt for 2 reasons: 1st b/c of what I mentioned above. Some people cringe at a statement like this b/c they think you're not being tough on sin or standing for what is right, etc, etc. 2nd b/c we've overall done a poor job of accepting people where they are (and this is changing thank God!). We've always been quick to kick out the skateboarders from our church parking lots, gossip about the pregnant teen, and when is the last time you invited a homosexual friend to church? Better yet, do you have any gay friends?

I'm stepping on my own toes here too. This is something I'm constantly trying to change in my own life. Making sure I'm hanging around non-believers ALOT, and accepting them where they are...which is not easy.

In a round about way I applied this to our small group last night. We are still in our sex series at the Leaf and one of Michael's points yesterday was talking about sinning with your sex life and talking about God's grace, yet still having scars from it. A point I made in small group last night was no matter your background in this area, GOD CAN USE IT! If you had few struggles with this and kept your virginity til marriage, then God can use your testimony to encourage young people! If you had a completely different experience with tons of struggles and regret, God can use you to encourage others!

So, whether they're near or far, accept them where they are. And let's stop expecting lost people to act found.