Acceptance by Gary Smith
…accept one another as Christ accepts us, to the Glory of God. (Romans 15:7 )
We all come from somewhere, here, there, good places and bad. We have a past consisting of experiences, trauma, aspirations and commensurate “feelings” that shape who we are. Sometimes our lives create baggage that weighs us down; sometimes our lives create the grace to set us free.
We live our lives largely like launched arrows. We have an origin, a flight, trajectory and destination. During our flights we may be influenced by adversity: like wind or rain; someone may move the target after launch; the launch may misfire and just fall to ground. Any of the possible outcomes leave us with feelings. More than any other shaping influence, feelings and emotions shape our thinking. When you feel a certain way, you act in ways you deem appropriate (knowledge not withstanding).
Bias makes our lives easier. Bias enables us to make quick decisions, without assessment, and respond in a manner consistent with our self-identity. Bias is a shortcut to decisions without the complication of thinking about it too much.
Accepting someone as they stand before us is difficult. We need to protect ourselves from negative or dangerous nouns (persons, places or things--including habits, obsessions or compulsions). We must be able to make decisions, sometimes quickly, we need tools to do this. Accepting someone as they are without filtering can be terrifying.
Paul’s point seems to be judgement is not our domain. Acceptance of others, as they stand in front of us at any moment, glorifies God. Regardless of our complexities, they are OUR complexities. They should not color our treatment of others. It seems to me in this way we can break the bonds of our past “experiences” and rejoice in the opportunities to experience others and live together, in peace. The Gospel encourages this: in all things, REJOICE!