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Topic: Rejection (11/15/04)
TITLE: Rejection vs Acceptance By Debra Dotson 11/16/04 |
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John 3
18He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation--he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ's name.]
Over the course of my life I have been rejected, cast off, abandoned. All of this for who I was then. A lost soul trying to escape the reality of life. I even rejected my own self. I tried to run away from the inside of myself that I didn’t know only Jesus could fill.
Then came the time of rebirth, and another rejection. Sometimes it’s easier for the family to control those of us that are the “black sheep” or the rejecter. That way they have the control in the situation and we are discarded like left overs at Thanksgiving.
When I received the Holy Spirit, it was known, there was no rejections from my Lord. There was rebirth and renewal and I knew it and of course those around me knew it too. They did not except it, because their idea of living forever was from doing the good works they had already done, reached their limit, reject any more good works and didn’t really want to tolerate any reminders of their lack.
Romans 11
15For if their rejection and exclusion from the benefits of salvation were [overruled] for the reconciliation of a world to God, what will their acceptance and admission mean? [It will be nothing short of] life from the dead!
Can someone convince a catholic Italian mother or grandmother of this? I don’t think so; they were raised with sin and remained in it. The were rejected by God in their minds, because they let him die and did nothing to save him. They have been trying to make up for that through the good works they perform. Which, I might add they have their own set of limits on the works quota too, it can’t interfere too much with what their plans are, or they may not be able to commit to it. Actually rejection is the opposite of acceptance. There was not acceptance from my family for me, ever. I never learned acceptance, therefore never felt quite right about anything.
Timothy 1
15The saying is sure and true and worthy of full and universal acceptance, that Christ Jesus (the Messiah) came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost.
1 Timothy 4
9This saying is reliable and worthy of complete acceptance by everybody.
What more can be said about rejection vs acceptance of Jesus Christ and ourselves? It is up to us to accept the promises of Jesus and the rejection is not of Him at all, but the enemy.