Acceptance
Ponder: Being wanted and enthusiastically accepted by the Lord
Scripture: “. . . to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6 NKJV).
What hurts worse than being rejected, especially by those you love? Our Lord’s agony consisted, in part, of being “despised and rejected by men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). He was “the stone which the builders rejected” (Matthew 21:42).
Worse than any rejection by men, however, is rejection by God! Jesus warned that on the great judgment day, the disobedient hear these awful words: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).
Our own sins make us liable to God’s rejection. “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). Fortunately, we do not have to remain alienated from Him. By His grace, God has “made us accepted in the Beloved” (i.e. in Christ, Ephesians 1:6). Upon our faith, repentance, confession of Christ, and immersion into Him, God forgives our sins and adds us to Christ’s body, the church. We are thus accepted by Him, not because we deserve it, but because we are in Christ.
God accepts us in Christ, not grudgingly, but enthusiastically! I remember being chosen last for teams on the school playground. The team captain didn’t want me – he had no choice but to take me. By contrast, “accepted” (Ephesians 1:6) is the same word the angel Gabriel used in Luke 1:28 when he called Mary “highly favored one.” God did not reluctantly accept Mary because she was the only virgin in Galilee. Neither does He resent accepting us in Christ. No, indeed, He has made us highly favored ones! Each one of us is special to God.
Remember, our acceptance is “in Christ.” It is not by our merit, but by His grace. Our obedience to the gospel is not a work of merit, but an act of obedient faith. It earns nothing, but is essential because through it we come into Christ, where acceptance is.
God wants you in His team! Are you in Christ?
Song: “Grace Greater Than Our Sin”
Prayer: Father in heaven, thank You for accepting us in Christ. We marvel and give You praise for Your love for us. Help us, we pray, to realize just who we are in Christ, and to behave accordingly. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Joe Slater (Justin, TX)