The Lord has accepted them, Rom. 14:1-3; 12 NIV

Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them; So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. 

Romans 14:1-3; 12 NIV

Something we need to be reminded of is that not everyone is as spiritually mature as you are if you've been walking with Christ for a minute.  And if you're spiritually still young, remember those who are mature in Christ are still fallible and still learning like you.  Furthermore, for both parties, just because you may disagree or not see eye to eye on some things does not mean one of you is wrong.  We all have freewill to worship how we want to worship as long as we worship Him (Rom. 14:22).  We can have different opinions and outlooks on all issues as long as we remember that our center is Jesus.  Just because you believe you should get out in the aisle and dance during service and your brother prefers to stand quietly doesn't mean he's any less saved than you are.  You are both believers and you worship differently.  God still accepts you both. 

For some this may be a difference of belief.  For others a matter of spiritual maturity, but no matter the issue, God accepts you both and that's all that matters.  I'm not only preaching to myself, but to those of you who have been walking with Christ for a long time, we need to remember this.  We need to not get so caught up in our agendas that we miss this mark:  not everyone is where we are and we too are still learning.  As mature believers we must remember Romans 12:3 at all times.  And the body of Christ as a whole would do well to remember Romans 14:12 when we encounter any situation.  Everything we say or do will have to be accounted for.  So let's love one another (1 Peter 4:8) as we should, and accept brand new and old believers where they are, not where "we" think they should be, because our Lord has already accepted them.

#prodigalpastor #love #spiritualgrowth #worship #faith