Accepting His Acceptance

I ran into a former member of my church today who left her husband to pursue the feelings she had been having for other women. Before she decided to leave she met with me concerning a comment I had made in the sermon that day concerning the empty lie of homosexuality. When we met together she said, "First of all, I know that you genuinely care for me. Second of all, I know where you stand concerning this issue--help me." We talked and prayed and in a matter of weeks she decided to test-drive this other lifestyle. As I was talking to her today, I asked if she would call or email me so we could talk about how she had been doing. She said, "You might be disappointed." To which I replied, "That's not my concern or interest. (Maybe a little bit) I just want to hear how you're doing." I genuinely wanted to show her the love of Jesus. The kind of love that accepts us just as we are, in our brokenness, shame and defeat. We have to accept his acceptance before we can ever get healthy in Him, which means we as the Church have to learn to demonstrate his acceptance before we ever expect anything more from the one we are trying to love into a relationship with Jesus.