Acceptance Does Not Always Mean Approval

In review of John 6:37 it says, “The Father gives me the people who are mine. Every one of them will come to me, and I will always accept them.”

Bottom Line:

Those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.

What this means to me:

The Father is the one who gave me to Jesus, and now I have become one of his own.  When I came to him, he openly accepted me and promised to never turn me away.  As a follower of Jesus, I too need to be accepting of people in the world. John 6:37 says, “The Father gives me the people who are mine. Every one of them will come to me, and I will always accept them” (NCV). I may have accepted Christ into my life, but I really need to fully understand that he’s accepted me. He doesn’t love me because of who I am or what I’ve done, but because of who he is. Titus 3:7 says, “Jesus treated us much better than we deserve. He made us acceptable to God and he gave us the hope of eternal life” (CEV). He didn’t make me acceptable because I  changed. And It’s not that I never sin. It’s by his grace alone! God wants me to show the grace and acceptance to other people around me. There is a difference between acceptance and approval. Jesus Christ accepts me completely, but that doesn’t mean he approves of everything I do. I need to do the same with the people around me. I don’t have to go around approving of everything everybody does. But I do need to accept them, because that is a mark of love.  The Bible says in Romans 15:7, “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you” (NIV). One of the ways I can show acceptance to other people is to simply listen to them. Love pays attention. Love listens to the fears and the doubts of others and treats them with respect. Love accepts others the way Jesus accepts you. I need to keep this in mind, especially as I run across those whose lives I don't’ approve of. I can still show them love.