“I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.”- Dorothy Day
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”- Romans 15:7 (NIV)
In Chapter 5 (“Put Down Your Stones: Acceptance”) of Everybody’s Normal . . ., John Ortberg opens with a story about the Humane Society on Nantucket Island. Because storms in the Atlantic along the rocky coast of Massachusetts created great danger, a volunteer organization formed centuries ago.
So, this group of volunteers banded together to go into the lifesaving business. They built little huts along the shore. People from the Humane Society watched the sea all the time. To remind them precious human life hung in the balance, the adopted a motto. It read: You have to go out, but you don’t have to come back.
Eventually, the U. S. Coast Guard took over the task of rescue. And for a while, the two groups worked sided-by-side. But when the volunteers stopped manning the huts, something strange happened. They refused to disband. Hence, the Humane Society continues to exist. Only now they get together for dinner and simply enjoy each other’s company.
Most significantly, John notes, God’s called us to minister in the lifesaving business. However, sometimes we fail to see the need, blinded by our own self-preoccupation. Even though people around us experience mini shipwrecks every day.
Most of the time, we offer our words as lifelines. Above all, Pastor Ortberg counsels, every word we speak possesses the power to either:
- give a little life to people, or —
- destroy a little bit of their life and vitality.
In conclusion, John advises:
“What exactly do we do when we accept someone? It is a remarkable action, difficult to define, yet unmistakable when we experience it. To accept people is to be for them. . . . It does not, of course, mean to approve of everything they do. It means to continue to want what is best for their souls no matter what they do.”
Today’s question: What Bible verses help love the person I love least? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: Scandalized by sins of the spirit”