Rejection &
Acceptance
Most, if not all, of us like to
be liked. Whether at home, school, or the workplace, we all like to be accepted,
so much so, that some have trouble with rejection, and even to the point of plotting
revenge! One may reject a suitor as unsuitable, while another may see the same
as most acceptable. Society has its rejects, and it has ‘acceptables’. Down and
outs are among the former, while pop stars and movies stars are among the
latter. However, we cannot force people to accept us, just the same as we
cannot stop people rejecting us. But, is this not all a bit superficial? Therefore,
‘to the law and to the testimony’! Let’s dive deeper.
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| Neil & Dot, Ammaretto Italian Restaurant, Bridge of Weir |
In the beginning God created us and
we were acceptable to Him (Gen. 1:31). However, in the Garden we rejected God
as unsuitable to us (Gen. 3:6). But even then, He came seeking us (Gen.
3:8-19). But, in the fulness of the time, He became our suitor by becoming one
of us (Gal. 4:4-5), ‘For the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which
was lost’ Luke 19:10. Alas! Again, we rejected Him as unsuitable to us: ‘He is
despised and rejected by men’ Isaiah 53:3a.
What is God going to do with us? He
keeps on seeking us and we keep on rejecting Him! We even rejected Him all the
way to the cross. Should He leave us all on the broad way that leads to destruction
(Matt. 7:13)? How can a holy God ever accept us? ‘For God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life’ John 3:16. Therefore, whoever believes in
Jesus will be accepted by God.
If we write a letter to someone we
love, we sometimes end it with a kiss symbolised by the letter X. Thus, our
love is illustrated by a cross. X marks the spot where God showed His great
love for us, i.e., Christ’s cross. God accepts those who believe in the message
of Christ’s cross. Yet, many still reject God.
Be that as it may, there is
another X in Scripture we can look at to see evidence of God’s love for those
who love Him. It’s called a chiasm. You will find it in the KJV and the New
King James Version of the Bible. Observe: ‘We love Him because He first loved
us’ 1 John 4:19. Notice that the two lines of the cross intersect at the word ‘because’.
The first line making the X is ‘we love Him’, which is then reflected back by
the words ‘He first loved us’. Put it this way, if ‘we love Him’ were to look
in the mirror it would be reflected back as ‘He first loved us’. Thus chiasm. And
we see here that God as it were is the causative verb, in the ‘we love Him because
He first loved us.’ We were created to be His mirror image.
God therefore is mankind’s ‘suitor’.
Though all human beings have rejected Him and are therefore fleeing from Him,
God will keep on pursuing us till the Last Day. How does He propose to win us over?
By the Good News. ‘For what is the essence of the Gospel if it is not the
seeking love of God?’[1] However, He will accept us
only if we will accept His Good News! And why would anyone not accept the Good
News? Unbelief! But, be as the one who had brought his son to Jesus
to be healed and said, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’ Mark 9:24b.
Hear the Gospel and believe it. ‘But
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us’ Romans 5:8. What’s it to be? Rejection or Acceptance?
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