Accepted
Recently, I saw a video on the Internet of a cute, little lamb that was being rejected by her mother. The mother accepted her twin brother, but was roughly butting the little female lamb away. At first, I felt quite sad for her. How could any mother reject her baby, sheep or not? I know that very statement is hard for some of you to read due to your own personal pain. I am so, so sorry. But then I heard how this initial rejection was going to actually give the lamb a wonderful life. Because of the lamb's impending hardship, the shepherd decided to take her home to be personally raised by his son.
The lamb and the shepherd video
Of course, this lamb video reminded me of you. Every one of us has faced rejection. Sometimes, it is in little ways. Other times, it is huge. This is part of the human condition. But I have good news.
You are accepted!
Just like the cute, little lamb, the Shepherd saw the impending hardship you would face. He provided a way to make you His own. He accepted you.
Romans 15:7 Accept one another, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Did you hear that deep in your heart?! Christ accepted you!
Of course, this lamb video reminded me of you. Every one of us has faced rejection. Sometimes, it is in little ways. Other times, it is huge. This is part of the human condition. But I have good news.
You are accepted!
Just like the cute, little lamb, the Shepherd saw the impending hardship you would face. He provided a way to make you His own. He accepted you.
Romans 15:7 Accept one another, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Did you hear that deep in your heart?! Christ accepted you!
A framed copy of this used to hang in my living room
He only asks you to believe Him. Romans 10:9 says, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Meaning - You are His. You are forgiven. You are accepted.
Even better news - It also says in Romans 8 that NOTHING can separate you from God’s love. That includes you. Even YOU can't do anything that will separate you from God’s love.
So, see? You're stuck with it. You are stuck with God’s love for you.
Ephesians 1:5(NLT) says it gave God pleasure to adopt you into his own family. This is what He wanted to do.
Every one of us desires to be accepted regardless of what we may portray to the rest of the world. From birth to senior citizen, everyone desires some acceptance. We don't have to be accepted by everyone everywhere. But, everyone needs to be accepted by someone. This need seems to be magnified throughout our school years. Imagine how schools would change if children could understand this. Even if people in their very own homes or schools are rejecting these kids, the Creator of the entire universe has chosen them.
Every one of us desires to be accepted regardless of what we may portray to the rest of the world. From birth to senior citizen, everyone desires some acceptance. We don't have to be accepted by everyone everywhere. But, everyone needs to be accepted by someone. This need seems to be magnified throughout our school years. Imagine how schools would change if children could understand this. Even if people in their very own homes or schools are rejecting these kids, the Creator of the entire universe has chosen them.
He has chosen you. You are very important to Him. He accepts you.
Why is this so hard for us to grasp?
Why does the message of rejection ring so loud in our ears that we cannot hear the Truth?
Sometimes the message of guilt is the loudest voice we hear. "If only you knew me.....", "If only you knew what I did"or "if only you knew what I did...... again".
Sometimes it is the voice of another human that has either told us through their words or actions that we just are not good enough.
Other times the voice sounds just like our own thoughts, "That is fine for other people, but not me."
But I have more good news !
If you hear any or all of those voices, they are all lying.
Cover your ears! Redirect your thoughts! They are simply not true.
Ephesians 1:6 (NKJV) says “...He made us accepted in the Beloved.”
Your acceptance is not dependent on you. Woohoo! (At least in my case it deserves a woohoo). Your only part is to believe. You were made acceptable because of "the Beloved", Jesus. It is not because of who you are, what you have been through or what you have done. Nothing can separate you from God's love for you. You are accepted because of Jesus.
So please, my friend, no matter what you are facing today,
Never Forget the Truth - You are Accepted.
No comments:
Post a Comment