Rejection. A painful word. A feeling of not being good enough, not wanted, refused entrance into the lives of others. Ostracized, isolated.Painful. Or we have rejected others! We all desire to be accepted, and yet we have all at some time or another felt the pang of rejection. God has made us for relationships, healthy relationships. And yet because of our sin we are not only separated from God by our sin and as result separated from others through our sin! And at times in longing for acceptance will go to great lengths, debauchery at times to win someone’s affection and acceptance.
It’s crazy, we we often crave and seek the acceptance of those who reject us and reject the ones who lovingly accept us! But, sin is crazy!
“But God…” has made His way for us to know love’s highest affection and acceptance through His Son, The Lord Jesus.
Sin had alienated us from God. God’s Son as our sin bearer, took our sin upon Himself and paid the penalty upon the cross so we could be brought into a right relationship with God through the LORD Jesus Christ and we read we are now “…Accepted in the Beloved.”- {Read Eph 1:6 KJV}. our acceptance with God is total, complete, irrevocable, eternal. It is now one of loving acceptance based on His work on our behalf! “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. “-{Eph 2:5-7}.
His Acceptance is evidenced in various ways, such as…
He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ
He has adopted us into His family
He has forgiven all our sins, having cancelled them out totally on the Cross
He has given us access to Him to draw near to receive mercy, grace and help in time of need
He has promised never to abandon us
He has promised to provide all of our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ
He is present with us in every trial, temptation, triumph, day of sadness, mourning. He is our hope, Comforter, Lover of our soul and He wants you to know Him better and better and be assured He is your forever Friend and He calls you, His Beloved, and Friend. – {Read Rom 1:7; John 15;15}
He is no fair weather friend, He is totally committed to your eternal welfare. The cross testifying to His love and commitment for you.
No matter who walks in and out of your life He has promised to stay with you and for you! -{Read Heb 13;5}
You are Accepted and since you are, now you have the privilege to mirror Him. How? “Accept one another just as GOD in Christ has accepted you.”- {Rom 15:7}.
One of the things my mom excelled at was hospitality. She made everyone feel welcome. There was a warm welcome extended towards them. She made each person seem so important and welcomed them warmly, This is the picture in his verse, make a warm welcome for people. “Acceptance {Proslambano} is used in this verse with the meaning of to accept the presence of a person with friendliness, to welcome, to receive hospitably, to receive into one’s home or circle of acquaintances, (Ro 14:1, 3, 15:7, Acts 28:2, Philemon 1:17). -“{preceptaustin commenatries}.
Think of it, as God has “accepted you,” He pursued you, did what was best for you, rescuing you and now warmly taken you in to His family and friendship, and imparting at your disposal blessings upon blessings, and “precious and magnificent promises,”-{Read Eph 1;3-13;2 Pet 1:4} and accepting you whole hardheartedly, lovingly, so you can be that to others.
They will know no rejection from you, or because of you, but only loving acceptance! SUCH is the work of Jesus Christ in a life.
Extending Acceptance. The word speaks of a warm welcome!
“to take or receive into one’s home, with the collateral idea of kindness.
to receive, i.e. grant one access to one’s heart …to take into friendship.” – [Thayer’s }
Your heart is opened wide towards them, to lovingly embrace them, seeking or demanding nothing from them only seeking their highest good, for Jesus sake!
It’s a a command and is to continually be a habit of our lives, warmly, openly lovingly accepting, caring, showing kindness to one another! IT IS NOT OPTIONAL! Only as we submit to the Spirit of God and allow Him to control us can we obey this command. But the good news is we can, for He works IN us both the desire and doing for His good pleasure. We have the power and the promises to strengthen us to do so.{Read Phil 2:13; 2 Peter 1:3-4}
“Paul says continually draw one another to yourself. One could translate it “accept to yourself” or “take to yourself” which is the idea of the middle voice. Thus one could paraphrase it as…
Give them a warm welcome. Grant them access to your heart. Take them to yourself. Treat them as the closest of friends with the most caring kindness.”-{preceptaustin}
Paul was addressing those weak and strong in the faith, Jews, Gentiles, it makes no difference, as God has graciously welcomed you into His heart and family, so you too should make room in your heart for other believers who are different than you in areas and like you are not perfect, but deserving of obeying Him and in doing so you are expressing love to Him.”He who has My commandments and keeps them he it is who LOVES Me!” Accepting others is expressing love to the LORD JESUS! There is your motivation in doing so!-{Read John 14:21}. Be “accepting” of them! BE INCLUSIVE of His people! Look around you and see who is not included and you go and include them.
Don’t so isolate yourselves with your friends that you leave one of HIS Friends without! Think!! Who needs to be included that I can include.
We are to demonstrate this in attitude and action. To accept one another is to accept Him. “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”- {Matt 10:40}. The thought is, any Friend of His is a friend of Mine! “ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’”-{Matt 25;40}
What does that warm, openhearted “acceptance” look like? Well, in the New Testament you find over fifty “one another” commands, what we are and not to be to one another. We are to accept one another, bear one another’s burdens, care for one another, be devoted to one another, encourage one another, forgive one another, Honor one another, be Kind to one another, love one another, prefer one another, speak truth in love to one another, we are not to lie to one another. It has to do with our responsibility to others in our relationships. And as you show acceptance to others according to His Word, that they too will know the love of Christ for them.
For like you, they too have known rejection, the pain of it and yet in you they find acceptance, love, and you STOP the pain of rejection, isolation that sin and sinners cause one another! You are a force for good and not evil. You mirror the heart of Christ in your attitude and actions! You are a blessing!
Open your heart wide to others! Does it mean you will receive such back from them? Not always, but always from HIM!! And you have the power to mirror His heart in accepting another, just as God in Christ has “accepted you!”
God accepts you wholly totally lovingly, irrevocably, eternally so, BASED Solely on His Work and Word… and that’s HIS PROMISE to you!
Think on His ACCEPTANCE of you
Think how you can SHOW ACCEPTANCE to others. and DO IT!
MEMORIZE, Ephesians 1:6 and Romans 15:7. Praise Him and accept HIS ACCEPTANCE of you and BE ACCEPTING OF OTHERS JUST AS GOD IN CHRIST HAS ACCEPTED YOU!
God’s PROMISE to you-“He ACCEPTS You
God’s PRIVILEGE for you -“Accept one another”
Godly MOTIVATION for you? – “Just as God in Christ has accepted you.”