Pause

Sharing our personal thoughts and prayers can seem intimidating and uncomfortable. But just as those in the early church had to overcome those fears, we do too. The more we practice opening our lives to others, the easier it may become.

We would all benefit if we all became more transparent and more humble to ask for help or prayer.

Listen

But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”

Matthew 9:12-13

Think

How often do you use the words “they” or “them” in phrases like “people like them” or “they should…?” Sometimes we even refer to “those people.” How would the world be different if Christians used “we” or “us” instead? “People like us” and “we should” could vastly change the way we live out our faith.

When we see all people as “one of us,” our attitudes toward them change. When we discover our commonalities, we better accept and love others the way Jesus loves us. It’s easy to exclude others because they don’t look or act like us. Jesus accepts all of us, not just those who “have it all together.”

Who would your friends consider to be one of “those kinds of people?” It takes courage to open ourselves up to those whom others see as unworthy of our acceptance. How could you offer acceptance and friendship that would include instead of exclude?

Dale Tadlock

Pray

Accepting God, help me to be open to all those whom I encounter today. Help me to extend your love and acceptance to those whom others have rejected. Please give me the courage not just to “do something” for them. Help me instead to live my life with them. Amen.

Go

Prayer is more than just a quiet time with God. It is entering into a community (a life together) as we seek to experience and be the presence of Christ. How might you open your life to others as you seek to be the answer to their prayers?

Listen!…Follow!…Share!…Encourage!…Inspire!…Pray!