Acceptance

It's you I like,
It's not the things you wear,
It's not the way you do your hair
But it's you I like
The way you are right now,
The way down deep inside you
Not the things that hide you,
Not your toys
They're just beside you.
But it's you I like
Every part of you.
Your skin, your eyes, your feelings
Whether old or new.
I hope that you'll remember
Even when you're feeling blue
That it's you I like,
It's you yourself
It's you.
It's you I like.
Fred Rogers - 1971

Fred “Mister” Rogers has been called the champion of radical acceptance. A Presbyterian minister, Mister Rogers took his cues about acceptance from Jesus. Jesus is the original champion of radical acceptance. We see it when he touched lepers. We see it when he chose a tax collector to be a disciple. We see it when he accepted Judas as a disciple knowing Judas would betray him. We see it in his love for a sexually compromised woman and the Pharisee who condemned her. Acceptance is not the end point of a relationship. It is the beginning. It allows transformation to occur in God’s time and God’s way.