Let's Accept Each Other

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:7). The Lord is in infinite wisdom allows Christian liberty not for our enjoyment but for His glory. In His earthly ministry Christ's life was one of self-denial. I believe it takes a measure of humility and self-denial on our behalf to accept one-another. Part of acceptance includes bearing the failings of one another. The end result of our accepting one another is the glorification of our Lord. The Holy Spirit that indwells each of us is in agreement with Himself. We can have unity among diversity as we yield to the Lord and each other. Then we who agree in Christ can begin to agree among ourselves. Have you noticed how God makes everything out of the same simple elements but they are always different. Each of us has a nose, two ears, a mouth, a forehead, some hair (more or less), a chin and with these God makes faces. However no two are quite alike. Though we all share the character of Christ, salvation is not a mold that stamps out the same being over and over again. In the body of Christ there is an infinite variety of expression of the beauty and character of our Lord. This is His plan and He began it in eternity past and He won't end it until eternity future. When we focus on the marvelous work the Lord is doing in each of our lives it becomes a lot easier to accept (welcome) one another. We are like the weaver who weaves cloth, and, working from the wrong side of the garment sees a tangle of threads that seems to make no sense at all. But when the process is finished, one can look on the other side, and there is the pattern beautifully worked out. That's what each of our lives are like. When we begin to see each other through His eyes, it becomes a whole lot easier to accept each other. This brings praise to the Lord. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

What About Suffering

People are fond of posing the dual questions, "Why is there so much suffering in the world?" and "Why doesn't God do something about it?" Strangely, however we seldom think to ask the deeper and more pertinent questions, "Why is there so little love in human hearts?" and "Why don't we do something about it." For the believer suffering takes on new meaning. Calvin Miller wrote "We glory in knowing that at the core of our best pearls there exists a ragged hurt that once stabbed us with ripping pain. Then God came. His grace 'pearlized' our pain with dependency. Our deep moans gave way to glad hosannas. He transformed our hurt into a beautiful usable ministry (Jeremiah 31:13). 'I will turn their mourning to joy.' This pain is the pouring out of self. Once empty, we are then ready to be filled with something more than ourselves. The emptying is continual. Becoming is indeed hard work. It is the work of being poured out. Fragile trust is stronger than swaggering self-reliance." Suffering can be a means of deeper relationship with God. Crucifixion is God's invitation to resurrection, that our "Joy might be full..." John 15. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.