Understanding part 5
To be understood, accepted, and loved, I think, is the most basic human desire. It is the desire of our hearts. And it can only be "gotten" or satisfied, by delighting ourselves in the Lord. Because He IS love. He created us. He knows every part of us. God told Jeremiah, "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah 1:5 NLT). Nothing we do takes God by surprise. He understands us. He knows WHY we do what we do... before we even do it. And He has offered us a more excellent way. Look at 1 Corinthians 10:13 in the NLT, "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." This is so glorious to me. Because first of all, we know that we're not alone. God is with us, and we're with each other! You're not going through something that nobody else has ever gone through. This human existence, the human condition, is so universal, even while at the same time it's so individual. When we go through things we think we ARE the only ones who have ever had to deal with... whatever it is. But I'm convinced that one of the reasons we go through things is so that we can help others get through those same things. So we can dig a well, and help out the next person who comes by and thirsts. So we can say, "I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt, and I can help you do the same." So we can UNDERSTAND. It's kind of like saying, "Let him who is without sin throw the first stone." We need to realize that we're all in this together. We're all facing the same challenges. And we all want the same things--again: understanding, acceptance, and love. I believe people do what they do for one of two reasons: Either they don't know they're loved and they're trying to GET love, or they DO know and believe the love of Christ and they're sharing what they've got. Either way, the love of Christ controls us. And that makes things easy to understand, if we stop looking at the surface and dig a little deeper. If we hear the Word (which is Jesus, which is love) with the ear and understand it with the heart. If I can look at you and SEE you--if I can look IN you and see the inner man, the hidden man of the heart--then I can understand you. I can even understand the stuff you do that I don't like or don't agree with. And that's where true acceptance comes in. Not merely tolerating someone--"I love you because I have to love everybody, but I really don't like you so keep your distance"--but embracing someone. Affirming them. Celebrating them. And that's what our next Rant series is going to focus on; what it means to truly BE accepted, and what it means to truly accept someone. Embracing them BECAUSE of their faults and weaknesses, not in spite of them. Loving them unconditionally, as we are loved unconditionally. Accepting... and understanding... and loving!