May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Romans 15:5-7
Don’t Stoop Down to Their Level?
It seems like we all have heard the adage, ‘don’t stoop to their level’ when we have found ourselves in a confrontational situation. But let’s think about that for a minute. No, we should not resort to devious means to retaliate, get even or hold a grudge. And if we forgive is there still more we should do?
If God sent his Son as a sacrifice for us, did He not stoop down from heaven to our level to provide a way of hope for us? He reached down and pulled us from the dirt even though we did not deserve such mercy and grace. He accepts us as we are. Should we not then accept others by stooping down and lifting them up? Not from a judgmental standpoint, but out of God’s love through us to help them find the same mercy and grace that our Lord extended to us?
An old gospel hymn comes to mind. Surely you’ve heard it:
(hopefully we will all be singing this in our head the rest of the day)
I thank God for stooping way down to my level in the dirt to lift me up.
- Written by our Lighthouse Mentors