“We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.’ For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope… .Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”- Romans 15:1-7

Humans have an amazing ability to judge one another. We judge people for what they do that we think they shouldn’t do. We judge people for what they don’t do, and what we think they should do. We judge people for doing too little, too much, too different, too conservative or too liberal.

When you think about it, we have an unlimited ability to judge the actions of others. When I lived in the south, I learned quickly that when someone said “God bless their heart,” that something negative was coming. Maybe the equivalent elsewhere is, “Please be in prayer for William because he has done thus and so.” 

In this passage, Paul talks about two kinds of judgement. First, of those who are weak in their faith and who may not live up to our expectations.. With these, Paul says, “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.” Think about this: We often feel that we need to play the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who are new in their  faith. Not so! The Holy Spirit is fully capable (He is, after all, God and we are not) of working in the lives of a new believer in His time and His unique way. Our role? To encourage them and build them up. 

Don’t forget how patient God has been with you. He patiently encourages us and bears with us and that is exactly what we are to do with the failings of the weak. 

Paul goes on to make a general statement: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Think about this. Every time we criticize fellow believers, we violate this command. Every time we gossip, we do the same. People know whether or not we truly accept them - it is evident in the way we interact, the graciousness with which we accept their failings - and we all have them - and the interest we take in others. I particularly remember one of my uncles who always made you feel special and fully accepted in his presence regardless of who you were. And that is how God treats us as well.

There is a graciousness and acceptance that Jesus gives to us that we are to give to others. To accept one another is to be like Jesus. To be patient with those who are weak in their faith is how Jesus treats us. It is this kind of grace and acceptance that makes Jesus look good and His church a place of safety where every person counts and every story matters.

Father, I thank You today for how You accept me and for Your patience and love. Help me to pass that same attitude on to members of Your family. Help me encourage rather than discourage and give hope rather than criticism. Work in my heart on these things. Help me give the gift of acceptance. Amen.