Beyond Tolerance

I am reading a book by John Burke called "No Perfect People Allowed". I read this and had to share it with you

What the world needs more than anything else is grace. Not more talk about grace--but grace tht seeks out the lost people like God does. Grace with skin on it--because people are born to run from God without it...Until we believe that God is truly for us, not against us, we will keep running and hiding (Christians included!)...Gordon MacDonald said it well, "The world can do almost anything as well or better than the church. You need not be a Christian to build houses, feed the hungry, or heal the sick. There is only one thing the world can not do. It can not offer grace". The uniqueness of Christianity boils down to one word:Grace. Philip Yancey notes, "The Buddhist eight fold path, the Hindu doctrine of Karma, the Jewish covenant, the Muslin code of law--each of these offers a way to earn approval". Grace says God accepts you and loves you unconditionally-"as is".

But if you interview people on the street, few, if any, associate Christianity or church with anything closely resembling grace. What they feel is law--zero tolerance, judgment, and condemnation. Why doesn't the church utilize it's greatest asset? Though the world cannot offer grace it offers an inexpensive substitute: Tolerance. The very idea of tolerance implies enduring or putting up with something you don't like or value. Our culture diets on the candy of tolerance but what it really craves is the meat of grace. Tolerance does not value people but simply puts up with their behaviors or beliefs. Tolerance alone can not accommodate justice and mercy--it can only look the other way. Tolerance might deal with differences, but it can't embrace us in full knowledge of sin and remove our guilt...God far exceeds the requirements of of mere tolerance; He restrains His judgment and even showers the unworthy with grace. If we are to represent God through the church, we must not occasionally tolerate people we don't like; we too must show grace"

What would happen to evangelism if we showed grace to the unsaved? What would happen to our church services if we did more than just tolerate that objectionable person next to us? What would happen to the body of Christ is we welcomed unwed people, bisexuals, and meth addicts to participate in our worship services and small groups? I think we'd see the life of Christ revealed through His people. Awesome thought don't you think?