The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me [to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

Luke 4:18-19 (NKJV)

 

The gospel commands us to love everyone and to never treat someone with disrespect or unfairly simply because they are different from us. You can learn to love and accept them as God loves and accepts them if you can see God's image in them.

Acceptance goes beyond tolerance.

It is the ability to accept someone and learn to embrace and understand them, even if their inherent standards and values appear to contradict God's will and word. It is not, however, imply blind acceptance or approval of everything they do. Rather, it is seeing people for who they are now as well as who they might truly become in Christ.

Jesus did not simply tolerate people, but He truly loves and cares for them. He accepts them, empowers them with His amazing grace, and transforms them through His incredible love. In revealing His mission, Jesus demonstrates His concern for individuals who lack the ability to change on their own and those who lack options for bringing about change for themselves and their families.

Our Lord stated that He was sent to proclaim freedom to prisoners and to set the downtrodden free. Captives are those who are trapped because of what others have done to them, whereas oppressed are those who have trapped themselves by their own actions. In either case, Jesus came to save them.

It is crucial to learn how to appreciate people's journeys and walk alongside them without passing judgement or dismissing them. It is about accepting someone and showing kindness and love to them. True and genuine change is only possible through believing in Christ and living a life empowered by His Spirit (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). It is not our call to change people — only God can do it. Rather, it is our call to lead people to the Saviour who came to give them life, and life abundantly.