Quite a few years ago, a pastor asked me how long I had been an Adventist. It was funny and strange at the same time as I wondered why he would ask me that, being that I am a 3rd generation Adventist and was married to an Adventist pastor. ⠀
When trying to figure out why he thought I was a newly baptized Christian (when in fact I was baptized at 11 years of age), I realized, that not only were we from different countries, with distinct traditions and ideologies, and diverse backgrounds; it was because I did not fit into “his” mold of how an Adventist should look like (I wear my wedding band and I like wearing make-up 😊). I did not fulfill his expectations and his perception of what is required to be a Seventh-day Adventist. ⠀
This saddened me, not only because I would never be able to convince him otherwise, but because the view he had of God was conformed to human opinion and thought. He had a “one size fits all” view of what it means to be an Adventist.⠀
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He had boxed God in without realizing that this had defined his view of religion, Christianity, and the world. He could only see as far as the box he created allowed him to, forgetting the vastness, infiniteness, and greatness of God.⠀
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Judging someone because they fail to meet our expectations leads us to miss out on all the wonderful opportunities God is placing in front of us of getting to know them.⠀
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Dismissing someone because of their differences not only makes us look bad, and totally unreflective of who Jesus is, but it begins to instill negative thoughts and hatred towards those that are not like us. ⠀
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We were created to love all people, to befriend them, and to share Jesus’ love with them, but we cant do that if we reject and judge them without even giving them a chance.⠀
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Today, Choose to give people a chance. Choose to befriend them. Choose to share Jesus’ love with them. Choose love!⠀
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#stopjudging #stopcriticizing #love #adventist #seventhdayadventist #Godisgreat #God #different #lovepeople #joannecortes #chooselove #nolimits #beyou
