Acceptance

ACCEPTANCE

“We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19 NIV).

God first accepted us in His love. Today we love Him, but before we loved Him He loved us first. We cannot boast and say we love God for something He did, because He simply loved us before we did.

The Bible says, “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen” (1 John 4:20 NIV).

The one who loves God must also love his brother or sister, and not only that, but also love the souls who still do not know Jesus Christ, for they too were loved first by God.

Question: Were we born saved? No. Then, who are we to say we do not love those who don’t have Christ in their hearts? We cannot only take care of ourselves within the church, we need to love those who are also part of God’s plan of salvation.

Many of us go through life trying to gain acceptance from people, we waste a vast amount of our time, strength, and emotions when the only acceptance we need is found in God’s love.

It doesn’t matter if your mother-in-law doesn’t like you or if someone says your ugly or fat, or that you look like an ape because you’re hairy. Look at what the Word says:

“Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Romans 8:33-34 NIV).

God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to die for us even though we were imperfect. My question is, why has it been so hard to understand we are accepted by God and that the truth is that we don’t need other’s acceptance?

You know why, because we still haven’t understood how wide, how tall, how long and how deep His love is. Christ died for us, He didn’t wait for us to be perfect, He loved us first despite our defects.

Therefore, what determines that God will choose us? The Heavenly Father’s grace and infinite love determines that He will always choose us. Simply accept that long ago, before you were able to understand love, you were already loved and accepted by the Great I Am.

“We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19 NIV).

Think about it:

Have you been wasting time trying to gain acceptance?
Why do you want to be accepted by others?