The Lens of Inclusion
When the leaders of the early church gathered to decide questions about inclusion, they had a particular lens through which they viewed scripture. They processed for a long time, looked at the Bible, and in the end decided that literal definitions of who was considered part of the family of God were not going to be essential. That’s because they did not view the Bible through the lens of law or even of morality.
Instead, they looked at the Bible through the lens of welcome, or you could say, a generous love. So the very same passage that easily could be interpreted as one of exclusion (Amos 9:11-12), is instead interpreted as one of inclusion (see Acts 15:16-17). Then, to make sure that everyone understood exactly what they were doing with their interpretation, James gives this summary line:
We should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. - Acts 15:19
Take some time to ponder this: who has the church made difficult for to connect with God?
Now pray about what you’ve come up with.