Acceptance

2 Cor. 6:2

​Throughout His ministry, Jesus chose to spend time with the outcasts of society and the religiously unacceptable.  From tax collectors, who cheated the people, to Samaritans, to prostitutes, Jesus accepted people from all walks of life and with all kinds of past.  In John 8, Jesus forgives a woman caught in the act of adultery.  He provided a living example of the forgiveness and acceptance that God has for humanity through His Son.  All who came to Jesus in humility were accepted by Him.  Often coming to Jesus took great courage and faith.  The prostitute who washed Jesus’ feet, or the woman with the issue of blood, had to overcome the risk of rejection and punishment to approach Jesus.  To this day, coming to Jesus requires courage.  Although we live in a society with less stringent norms, the pressure of other people’s opinion, especially in religious circles, can prevent people from receiving the grace of God.  However, God hasn’t changed. When Jesus’ died on the cross and rose again, He ushered in a new age of acceptance.  Grace has been dispensed to the world for all who receive Jesus.  Fear of rejection, fear of not measuring up, has been overcome by the blood of Jesus.  Through Christ, we are made sons and daughters of God.  We are accepted as children by the grace of God.  The ingredients are the same as for those who boldly came to Jesus.  They simply believed in Him, and believed by faith that He would accept and reward them for seeking Him out.  The only ingredient that we must bring is belief.  “We must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.”  Once you are accepted by the heavenly Father, the rejection of others dissolves.  “If God is for us, who can be against us?”  Today, may God wash away all of the pain, fear, and doubt from rejection, and may it all be replaced with a knowledge of the acceptance of God through Jesus Christ!