The Church is not called to tolerance, but to hospitality. Mere tolerance is far too gutless. Jesus did not model or advocate tolerance of the strangers and outcasts. He welcomed them, accepted them, stood in solidarity with them. In a few cases we also have stories of him openly challenging them to change, but it would be pretty hard to find a story where that wasn’t premised on the initial welcoming acceptance. More often it seems that he didn’t have to voice the challenge at all, but that people began to change in response to experiencing in him, the overwhelming hospitality of God.

Nathan Nettleton

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