Christian Living
The Importance of Acceptance
I’m told that the image staring back at me now is a striking and stark contrast to what God sees. I see a fearful, procrastinating, and self-righteous woman. He sees a justified, pure, and perfected work of art. I was not fully convinced that He loves me and wants to fellowship with me…of all people. I understand now that acceptance is a necessary constant in the life of any believer, but especially those who have been damaged. You have to accept where you came from, where you’ve been and where God would like to take you. Only then can you really begin a fruitful and intimate walk with
Him.
In order to believe we must acknowledge and accept. Accepting things that go against nature, common sense, and drilled down doctrine is difficult. The very instincts that God has given us seem to war with what He tries to deposit in our minds and spirits. He wants us to understand and place our faith in His unconditional love for every person who has or will ever live.
Self-acceptance
We have several avenues of diversion and distraction when it comes to not being able or willing to face who we really are. Some of the traits or actions that are the results of the lack of ability to accept one’s self are inaction, overreaction, guilt, and addiction just to name a few. I struggled with overreaction which gave way to issues with pride and self-righteousness. I worked extremely hard trying to earn a free gift. I flogged myself with guilt when I violated what I thought was God’s mandate for perfect living, never realizing that He could care less about my efforts.
I thought I’d accepted who I was a long time ago – probably when I was about 10 years old. This is when I thought I had seen the way my life would go. We were poor. My mother, bless her heart, was only interested in what the church had to say. My father wasn’t going to be a factor in anything that I accomplished or became. I accepted all of it. Creating the false illusion of acceptance by not caring or not reacting is also very damaging to yourself and those around you. How do you deal with things by not dealing with them? I know I’m not the only person in the world who operates that way – but I
would be the first to recommend not doing it.
After I ran away from church and punched myself out for almost two decades, I gave up. When I really examined my life I hadn’t really accomplished anything. I accepted that I was indeed imperfect, ignorant, limited and weak on my own. My God-
given talents and gifts weren’t being used at all – not even secularly. All I could see was a life in which many areas were now ugly, exposed, and in need of repair. Once I accepted my defeat and failure, I was able to collapse into His arms and cry like a newborn…because at that moment I was.
The Acceptance of Others
When President Obama announced that his administration supports giving homosexual couples the right to marry, I was saddened but not very surprised. After all,Christian politicians have very difficult decisions to make that more times than not, will
go against their deep personal beliefs or faith. This is why the Bible charges us to pray for our leaders. The ones who are truly born again need double portions of God-given wisdom, courage and faith. In order to succeed in their chosen profession, they must seek consensus, approval and acceptance from the majority of their constituency – only a fraction of whom will be Christian.
Perhaps this is why a lot of Christians are hesitant even fearful to share their faith with those who are closest to them – family, friends, coworkers. Being accepted is a
normal human need as we are social beings that must relate to one another in order to learn and thrive emotionally. However, we as Christians must be careful not to let that desire overshadow our conduct and commitment to God. Galatians 1:10 KJV says ‘For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” I don’t think you need to be a biblical scholar to extrapolate the meaning of that verse. It calls for a stance of no compromise if you claim to be a servant of God.
Some will love you, some will hate you but the worst thing you can do is be a hypocrite and jeopardize your standing with God or even your standing with those around you. Pray that your life be a living testimony everyday – what people see is more
powerful than what they hear you say. If they’re seeing the right things, when you do speak for Christ, the Holy Spirit is able to have those words effectively penetrate their
heart. Remember that it is not you they must accept but Christ in you. We must never do God a disservice by wavering in our faith in the face of those who do not believe. Don’t flinch, don’t blink.
God’s Acceptance
If you’ve ever watched or perhaps attended a Billy Graham crusade, you know that the singing of “Just as I Am” signified that the path to the altar for prayer,deliverance, and salvation had been opened. I’ve always loved the purity and poetry of classic hymns such as this. This is a song that has the powerful ability to gently penetrate your heart. God is certainly mighty, yet unbelievably gentle. The Holy Spirit carries the words of that song to hearts that are seemingly impregnable, irreparably damaged, heavy and hopeless, lost in the darkness of loneliness. Though your vision is blurred with tears,you make those courageous first steps towards the only One who has eternally accepted and loved you, even in what we would deem your most unacceptable, unsalvageable state. “Just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me…”
If a God who knows no darkness or imperfection has created and accepted us as we are, why can’t we of finite minds and abilities just accept that and live a life appreciative and worthy of His generosity? He says to us in Jeremiah 31:3, “…Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” There it is in plain English. Yet, our minds have been so battered and bombarded
with the mischaracterizations of God that we just can’t accept this – sometimes even after we’re born-again. It’s a struggle, but His mercy endures forever and He never stops showing you love and kindness because you don’t get it. He methodically coordinates blessings and life events until the light in your eyes finally switches on. Then you’re enlightened. Humbled and grateful, you embark on a journey to make other see.
Atonement, as it was performed in the old testament is no longer necessary! It’s imperative that we accept the new covenant in Jesus’ blood so that we can live without
condemnation and the fear and guilt that come with it. It is always man who hides in shame – dutifully sitting at a lonely table to indulge in a poor diet of perceived rejection
and shame. We often forget that we’ve been invited to sit at the Master’s table to feast on His free and endless supply of spirit nourishing grace, love, and peace. An invitation that
is good for eternity.
© Pamela K August 23, 2012
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