Sunday 21 October 2012

Acceptance

That's the theme I'm feeling just now. Firstly I recently heard of somebody we know of becoming pregnant but not being married- which I know isn't unusual nowadays. But there are still some Christians around who wouldn't be happy about it. What I'm going to say is that I too believe God intended sex to be enjoyed only within marriage. However I also believe that anyone can be anything they want to be, and we should love and accept people no matter what. I remember when I was reading Christy Miller, which I think I've written about before, Todd's reaction to her telling him one of their friends was pregnant, and her surprise at it. He was overjoyed! She didn't understand it, as the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy weren't exactly ideal. He explained that they had created a new life, and "it could be the greatest evangelist the world's ever known!" The statement's one to remember when things like that happen. To God it doesn't matter whether you've had a good childhood or not, or were born legitimately. Don't get me wrong, I still think you should wait until you're married, but it is no barrier to doing great things for God. And the other issue in this topic is racism. Last night I was watching an episode of Little House on the Prairie on DVD. This episode was "The Wisdom of Solomon", about a young black boy who desperately wants an education and the kind Ingalls family take him in and let him go to school, although some people didn't accept him. Sadly, although he had massive ambitions for what he could do with his life, in the end he realised his life would always be affected by his colour. This is set in the 1870s, so historically it would have been about another century before racial attitudes towards black people began to improve. The best scripture reference I can find is Gal 3:28: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Spells it out pretty clear - it really doesn't matter. Also that Jesus "did not come to condemn the world, but so that the world through Him might be saved". It's not our place to judge, so let's spread a bit of love and acceptance in our communities.