Romans 15:7

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”

If the President of the United States were coming to your house for dinner, I’m pretty sure your family would clean the house, take showers, brush & comb your hair, and put on some nice clothes. Not so with Christ. He accepts you and loves you just the way you are…and calls each of us to do the same for one another.

Accepting one another does not mean that we ignore unloving behavior…it means that we love each other well despite our unloving behavior. Christ forgave you and loves you even though you were and continue to be a sinner. Doesn’t it make sense that we should turn around and do the same for each other? After all, unlike Christ, each one of us far from perfect…so who are we to refuse to accept someone because of their imperfections?

We all do things wrong on a daily basis. Hopefully, as we get older and closer to Christ, those things will decrease and the loving things will increase. That is a road that we all must travel, so why not make the journey as pleasant as possible? It starts by loving and accepting one another, just as we are.

APPLICATION: Take time together as a family to confess your biggest family sins. Dad gets angry too much. Mom doesn’t have much patience. Sister is too quick to criticize and brother teases too much. You get the drill. After that, make a commitment to love and accept one another despite those sins, and pray that God would help all of you overcome them.