Acceptance
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you.
Romans 15:7, NIV
A website recently told of a young man from a rough background who joined a gang, got into trouble, and landed in prison. He’s doing better now, but he said about his younger years: “I didn’t feel accepted at school because I was disruptive…. Why would I stay in a place where I don’t feel accepted?”1
Every person worries about acceptance. People often fret about being accepted by others, whether at school, at work, in sports, or in personal relationships. Jacob worried about this regarding his brother Esau. “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me,” Jacob said in Genesis 32:20.
When it comes to our Heavenly Father, there is no “perhaps.” Ephesians 1:6 says, “To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” The question becomes—will we accept His acceptance? Will we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord?
Answer: “Yes!” You are accepted in the Beloved!
You may be wondering how you can accept yourself since you know how much you blow it and sin. The answer is this: if God accepts you, who are you to reject yourself?
Mark Maulding
Turning Point Ministries
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you.
Romans 15:7, NIV
A website recently told of a young man from a rough background who joined a gang, got into trouble, and landed in prison. He’s doing better now, but he said about his younger years: “I didn’t feel accepted at school because I was disruptive…. Why would I stay in a place where I don’t feel accepted?”1
Every person worries about acceptance. People often fret about being accepted by others, whether at school, at work, in sports, or in personal relationships. Jacob worried about this regarding his brother Esau. “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me,” Jacob said in Genesis 32:20.
When it comes to our Heavenly Father, there is no “perhaps.” Ephesians 1:6 says, “To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” The question becomes—will we accept His acceptance? Will we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord?
Answer: “Yes!” You are accepted in the Beloved!
You may be wondering how you can accept yourself since you know how much you blow it and sin. The answer is this: if God accepts you, who are you to reject yourself?
Mark Maulding
Turning Point Ministries
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