Unconditional Acceptance.

Thursday, January 13, 2011
Unconditional Acceptance. Have you ever known any “fair weather friends?” You know what that term means, right? These are folks that pat you on the back when things are going well, but when times get tough they cut and run. These are folks that are all about supporting you when it’s easy, but when it requires some sacrifice it’s just too much to ask. These are folks that you know, deep down inside, you’d better not trust too much because there’s a tremendous risk of being hurt eventually.
Sports teams have them. I’ve said a million times and I’ll continue to say: You could not pay me enough to be a football coach, at any level. Whether in high school, college, or the NFL – coaches have a tough job! Think about it: when you win, everybody loves you. Folks will all but worship the ground you walk on when you’re grabbing those championships and trophies. But let a coach have a bad game, or heaven forbid a bad season, and the fans are done with him. Fans are often times much more concerned with what that person can offer them than they are with the person himself.
And thus is the ballad of the fair weather friend. It’s all about what they can get out of the friendship. And when that friendship isn’t necessarily giving them something at the moment, they’re done. When that “friendship” begins to require something of them, some sacrifice or hard work, they bail. “WIIFM” – what’s in it for me – applies here.
Oh, but have you ever had a friend, albeit rare, that is truly unconditional? They really love you no matter what. If you’re on a mountaintop, they’ll be there with you. If you’re in the lowest valley and have nothing to offer them in return, there they are by your side. I used to think I had a lot of these friends, but a few days in a deep valley will open your eyes to reality. God allowed me, through some tough experiences, to see who would be there no matter what. And I’ve come to discover that if you have a couple of true, unconditional friends, you’re rich in ways most will never understand.
And then there’s God. It’s amazing to me that no matter how much I continue to fail Him, by grace He accepts me unconditionally. He doesn’t bail when I fail. Did you catch that? Just think about it – when I sin, when I fall – it’s Him I’m sinning against. He’s the One I’m hurting the most. Yet there He is – never failing, unconditionally loving me no matter what. And to say that He loves me even when I have nothing to offer Him in return is the understatement of the century. I have absolutely nothing of worth to give Him, period. Yet His love for me abounds.
I want to be that kind of friend. I want to love like He loves me – no strings attached. I want to extend unconditional love and acceptance to my friends. God doesn’t accept my sin at all. He knows it will hurt and destroy me, so He can’t just be ok with it. But He accepts me. I want to challenge my friends to new levels of commitment in Him. But when they fail, I want to love them all the more. And when they don’t possess the ability or strength to offer me anything in return, even when it seems as though their friendship is weak towards me, I want to extend to them a love and acceptance that can only be described as Godly.
I want to be the kind of friend Jesus is to me. And I pray you’re that kind of friend to me, too.


That’s just a thought, and I welcome yours.
Until next time,
blake

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