Acceptance and Rejection

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.  If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.  As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.  That is why the world hates you.” – Jesus Christ, to his disciples

The world hates me?  Ouch!  That hurts!

Never having seen a study on the topic, I would venture to guess that the primary reason believers do not share with others the full and abundant life they’ve found in Jesus Christ is their fear of rejection.  Let’s be honest: people’s opinions affect us.  So much so that we become what we aren’t in order to gain acceptance, and we hide who we are to avoid rejection and humiliation.  And in so doing, we recklessly hand over to others the power to define our identity; we invite them to determine who we must be, what we must say and how we must act.

True confession.  For years, I was partially muted by my need for the approval of – and inclusion by – others.  Like the wicked servant in the parable of the talents, I hid the good news of Jesus in the ground and was on course to hand it back to the Master unscathed ... and uninvested. 

But literally by the grace of God, that changed.  One day I decided to carve out some time each morning to read Scripture and then to record the thoughts it provoked in me and to respond in prayer.  In a matter of a few short weeks, I sensed God’s closeness like never before!  His presence was no less real than if he had assumed bodily form and sat across the table.  And he opened my eyes to new wonders and insights that had eluded me all my life.

As we met for our daily conversation – his word and my response – his unconditional love for me was overcoming my need for the conditional approval of others.  If the God of the universe, who knew everything about me, was yet eager to meet with me and teach me new things, how could I more highly treasure anything less?  God was showing me the truth of my identity in him and emancipating me from the dictates of others.

I’m not sure how, but I started to view people differently – fellow travelers with me on our brief journey this side of eternity.  I began to long for them to find what I had found – that Jesus was real and that, in him, we could find light and life, abundant and eternal.  And rather than seeking their acceptance, it became important to me to show them mine.  Just as Jesus had shown me his.

This was all God’s doing.  Every last bit of it.  And he still has much work to do in me.  But I share this as a message of hope.  We need not assume a faux identity to meet the demands of people; Christ is our life, for he has made us one with him.  We need not bury the gospel in fear; we can freely proclaim it as the power of God for salvation.

Will we be hated?  Yes, by people who want us to be what they think we should be. 
Will we be loved?  Yes, by the God who has made us one with him.

[Click here to see the daily devotional in John 15:18 – 6:4.]