“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15:7

Over the years, I have heard many church people (both youth group kids and regular church adults) say things like, “I wish I were more involved with the people of this church, you know, like really feeling like I belong.”

Comments like these serve to underscore the importance of acceptance in relationships. We all want people to stop thinking about themselves and their own needs, and instead to reach out to us. We want people to step out of their comfort zones and then welcome us, making us feel like we belong. And I assume there is nothing inherently wrong with that. It’s just part of the human condition to desire the acceptance of others.

Well, as a church, what are we going to do about it? I suppose we need more people who are committed to Jesus Christ (and Good News in particular) to focus on “accepting others.” In fact, we have about 120 people who attend this church on any given Sunday morning. So maybe we need about 60 of you to focus on making sure the other 60 belong. That wouldn’t be a bad start, right? I say, let’s try it!

Also, here is another idea. Whenever it crosses your mind to think something like, “I wish someone around here would include me” why not use that moment to remind yourself of the importance of YOU including someone else who feels like you do?

In other words, this is the perfect time to practice the Golden Rule. If you want someone else to stop thinking about themselves and reach out to you, well, then why not stop thinking about yourself, and go reach out to someone else? You can actually be part of the solution to the problem, at least in someone else’s life. And who knows? Maybe someone else will have the same idea about you? How cool would it be for all of us, as a church, to use our desire for inculsion/acceptance to help fuel our inclusion/acceptance of others?

Just a thought. Let’s try it this month and see what happens.