accept

For a guy who lived a few millennia ago, Paul is really relevant. No surprise, really, because he wrote the inspired, Spirit-breathed word of God, which is timeless. But this morning, he hit me between the eyes; me and every church I’ve ever been a part of.

Here's a bit of Paul’s advice, from Romans 14:1: “Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.”

It’s so easy to put a lot of value on spiritual maturity, isn’t it? To think the seminary-trained man or woman, or the wise elder who teaches catechism, has more importance than ordinary church members. Conversely, it’s easy to snicker over Sunday dinner at the new guy who never heard of David and Goliath.

Except, what does it really matter if they don’t know about David and Goliath if they know about Jesus? If they put their hope in Jesus, believe that his death atoned for their sins, and have committed to live for him, why do we bog them down in debates over the end times, over how long Jesus was actually in Hell, or the relationship between faith and works? There are a lot of doctrinal issues we see differently than other denominations, things that Scripture doesn’t clearly explain. Infant or adult baptism? Why fight?

I think there have been times when I made church and faith look kind of ugly by my unattractive desire for total conformity with my church’s doctrines, and by my attitude of superiority over my greater Biblical knowledge. Have I ever turned a new Christian off from the faith? I don’t think so, but only by God’s grace.

These new, tender Christians are to be loved and nurtured and grown, not judged and lectured and forced into a mold. They aren’t my followers, or followers of my church. They belong to Jesus, and he loves and accepts their tiny, feeble faith. Just as he does mine.