ACCEPTANCE, it is something we all strive for. It is something we search for. It is something we all desire. Something so simple yet so complicated and difficult. Why is it so hard for us to feel accepted by others? Why is it so hard for us to accept others? Is it because we are different and we don't like it when people do not think or act like we do? Is it because people's skin color is different than ours? Is it because others do not believe what we believe? Is that why we treat people differently? Is that why we sit in judgement and point fingers? Is that why we ignore some people?
Think about it for a moment and answer these questions honestly, no matter how hard it is to admit. Oh what would it be like if we felt accepted by everyone. Oh what it would be like if we accepted everyone we meet. Before we judge others for not accepting us, we need to look in the mirror and honestly look at our own actions. WHY IS ACCEPTANCE SO DIFFICULT?
Think about our circumstances, some of us deal with things we feel are unacceptable. We throw temper tantrums and whine and complain about what we're going through. We don't like to accept anything or anyone that doesn't give us happy feeling. We don't want to accept the consequences for our actions. We don't want to accept blame for what is our own fault. ACCEPTANCE for many of us believers is conditional.
Why do we have such a hard time with acceptance? Seriously? We judge before we accept. we condemn before we know the facts, we finger point without even thinking. Trust me I have been guilty of this myself. Accepting things I don't like, accepting people who are different, who believe differently and act differently is not always easy, BUT Jesus ACCEPTS me with all my faults.
Romans 15:7 ACCEPT one another, then, just as Christ ACCEPTED you, in order to bring praise to God.
I am ACCEPTED by God through the blood of Jesus Christ. God knows my heart. He knows all my sins and failings. He knows my deepest, darkest thoughts that I try to hide. He knows my secrets that no one else knows, yet He ACCEPTS me. He has seen me at my worst and He has seen me at my best. He knew all my days before I was born. He knew me before I knew me, yet He accepts me. I don't deserve His acceptance, yet He gives it to me freely.
The prostitute on the street corner, God ACCEPTS her. The homeless man on the street corner looking for his next drink, God ACCEPTS him. The man in jail for murder, God ACCEPTS him. The drug addict on skid row, God ACCEPTS him. The guy sitting in a strip joint, God ACCEPTS him. You, God ACCEPTS you!
ACCEPTANCE is not something God throws around non nonchalantly. ACCEPTANCE is found through believing in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. No matter where you have come from, no matter what is in your past, no matter what sins you have committed, God accepts us, just as we are. We are not a surprise to God. He's not shocked by the things we've done or said in the past. That is why Jesus came to earth, so we could be forgiven and ACCEPTED.
So let me ask this, if God can accept me with all my sin and failings, why can't we accept others with their sins and failings? Acceptance is not something I earned form God. It is a free gift because of my belief in Jesus Christ. I am ACCEPTED ! You are ACCEPTED!!
Lord, I do not deserve your acceptance, but thank you for giving it to me. Help me to learn to accept others as you accepted me, in Jesus name I pray, amen.
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