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 brokenhearted, 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.

We can't always distinguish the difference between acceptance and tolerance. So often we confuse these two words since they are used interchangeably. It is possible for someone to tolerate you without actually liking or accepting you. They try their hardest to put up with you until it affects them so much that they can't stand it any longer.

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, a blind acceptance or approval of everything they do. Rather, it is seeing people as who they are now as well as who they can truly become in Christ.

Jesus did not simply tolerate people, but actually loved and cared for them. He accepts them, fills 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 by what others have done to them. The oppressed are those who are trapped by what they have done to themselves. In any 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 providing 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 that but it is our call to guide people to the Saviour who came to give them life, and life to the fullest.