This one is huge. God accepts us just as we are. Period. There was and is nothing we have to do to earn His acceptance. Once we choose Jesus we become fully accepted and beloved. We’re seen, at our very worst and very best, by God and He still accepts us.
God never rejects us.
Let’s look at a couple of verses on acceptance.
Accepting of Others
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15:7
This verse is telling us what to do and telling us why we should do it.
What should we do? Accept!
Why? Yup, you got it – Because Christ accepted us.
Think about this. Jesus died so the worst of sinners could be adopted into His family and (big one here) become co-heirs with Him. That means He not only died so we could be family members, He died so we could share EVERYTHING with Him. aka co-heirs.
- Equal share in His inheritance
- eternity with Him in heaven,
- the love of & acceptance by God,
- the forgiveness of sins (read this and this for more on inheritance).
If you were the prince of England, how’d you feel if the Queen adopted a criminal and then told you they were getting half of your inheritance?
Angry, temper tantrum throwing, smoke out the ears…Yup, me too!
Jesus willingly and lovingly shared His inheritance with us. He accepted us and died for us knowing we weren’t deserving of it. “Oh how great the Father’s love for us…”
Truth: We accept others because Jesus accepted us.
God Never Rejects Us
This next verse is Jesus’ own words on acceptance.
“All that the Father gives Me will come to me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away.” John 6:37
This verse is Jesus’s reply to people when they asked for the bread He’d said God gives. He replied saying He was that bread and followed that with the above verse.
While on earth Jesus worked hand-in-hand with God. The same hand holding we talked about yesterday.
Everything Jesus said and did was God’s will.
That’s part of what this verse is telling us. The other part is the acceptance part – the “I will never drive away” part.
I know several people struggling with rejection. Not knowing if they should even bother with other people.
Rejection hurts. It’s painful and drives a deep knife into us.
God doesn’t reject, He accepts. As members of God’s family we have to follow suit.
Remember, we’re imitating Christ and He doesn’t reject.
He accepts with arms open wide. Accepts with such a big bear hug that you don’t ever want the hug to end. I had a friend who hugged like that.
She’s rejoicing in heaven now -but oh…her hugs. They were the kind of hugs I imagine Jesus gave. They were
- accepting,
- everything is okay,
- I love you, and
- I’ll happily hold you all day hugs.
Do you need one of those accepting hugs today? Walk into God’s arms and let Him wrap His arms around you. If Sarah or I were near you, we’d happily give you our best earthly version of that Papa-bear hug.
Truth: God never rejects and always accepts His children.
Food for Thought
Here’s the PDF: AYR Food for Thought
- How do you imagine Jesus would show His acceptance of you if He saw you right now?
- Has someone shown you Jesus-like acceptance?
- What’d that look like?
- How’d it make you feel?
- Based on Jesus’ acceptance of you, how should you accept others?
- Is there something that needs to change about the way you accept others?
Pray about this and jot down what the Holy Spirit shows you.
If you haven’t listened to or read the first post in this series you can find it here, Do You Know Who You Are..
We’d love to be praying with you so please send us an email to [email protected] or drop a note in the comments below. As always, if you’ve got questions about what you read today – go to your pastor. If you don’t have a pastor, send us an email and we’d be happy to help.
~Until next time, Hannah and Sarah
Today’s Quick Tip
How we breathe has a lot to do with our ability to relax. Our ability to relax has a lot to do with our stress and anxiety levels. Try incorporating one of these breathing techniques from the University of Michigan into your daily routine. Taking a minute to breathe tells your brain to slow down and relax. Wonder what would happen if you did this every hour? Or even twice a day?
Give it a go. Your body will thank you for it.
