The first sentence to this chapter states:
"As Christians we are often afraid that acceptance of the person means we condone their lifestyle. Jesus didn't seem to have that problem, but it has all too often been a problem within the church."
Jesus came for the sick, not the well. What He didn't say in that verse is that we are ALL sick without Him as our Savior. Jesus never required anyone to clean up or change before He would help, heal and save them. But somehow, some Christians require everyone to clean up and change their behavior before they will be made to feel loved and welcome. Not acceptable Christian behavior. We are to extend the same grace to others that God has extended to us through someone else. I might not have been as physically in need of cleansing as a homeless person before Christ entered my heart, but my heart was just as much in need of cleansing as the blackest of the black-hearted.
Don has shared a story from his past about a man who came to church one Sunday morning, where he was pastor. The man was drunk. Some of the people asked, "What do we do, Bro. Don, do we ask him to leave?" Don replied, "Heavens NO. Get the man a cup of hot coffee and something to eat from the kitchen." They did and then they sat down beside him during church. He came back the next Sunday, sober. And several Sundays later, he gave his heart to the Lord and gave his life to God, forever a changed man.
The story Ann Smith tells is just this heart-wrenching.
We are to accept people at the point of their need, wherever that may be. After all, that is exactly where Christ accepts us.
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