John 1: 12 – But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. (KJV)
John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)
Romans 5: 8- But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (KJV)
Throughout our lives, many of us try to fit in and be accepted by others. We think that if we are accepted by others that it will fill a void in our life; create a friendship. Day after day goes by and even more, we look to try to fit in. We try to become accepted by all. This is one of the biggest reasons today why we talk differently or even do something wrong when we know we shouldn’t or were taught that we shouldn’t. Sometimes we act differently or even dress differently just to try to fit in. There are times we will go to undesirable places or allow peer pressure to win us over just to make sure we fit in and that people will like us. We are always looking for a relationship or friendships with others because we lack friendship with the One that matters.
It seems that the more we try to fit in, the more we will do to try to make it work. This is a desire in our soul to be accepted by others, to make friends. The problem is that the acceptance we are looking for is not achievable through people but only with God.
When we continue to look for acceptance from others we will just be digging a hole, bigger and bigger; this is one of the reasons there are so many that are depressed, filled with anxiety, stress, and anger in their lives because, no matter what we do, it does not solve the problem of acceptance. This is why we must realize that we only have one that accepts us, which is Jesus Christ; One that will never forsake us but always be with us. John 3:16 is one of the most famous and well-known verses – it shows us that if we truly believe in Him we shall be with Him. John 1 also shows that for as many received him (Jesus Christ) He gave them the power to be sons and daughters of God.
That is true acceptance. Once you’re in, you have become adopted and are a son or daughter of God. That is amazing! You’ve become a true family.
When we continue to look for someone earthly to fill a place of acceptance in us, it will never satisfy us. This is because the only thing in our life that will bring acceptable satisfaction in our lives will be Christ. Until we realize this we will try anything to fill this void: we will go places, we will look for it in women or men, we will look for it in alcohol, drugs, and many other forms.
I want you to realize that Jesus Christ is waiting on you with arms wide open to accept you and transform your entire life, to give you true acceptance and love (Romans 5:8).
Ephesians 1: 6 – To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.(KJV)
John 7: 37-38 – In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.(KJV)
In the two passages above, we see that He has made us accepted in the beloved, in Christ, and if anyone that thirsts for him comes to drink, and believe, He will allow rivers of living water to come forth. This is the acceptance of Jesus Christ, He is waiting on you today.
We have a God that has done everything to make sure we are accepted, He has given us His Son and through Him, we can become forgiven, redeemed, and acceptable to God the Father.
Let us no longer look to the left or right to see if others will accept us, but let’s look at the One that truly matters, the one that will accept you, and bring you out of the lonely places to a place filled with His love and peace.
Isaiah 55:7 – Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Ezekiel 18:21-22 – But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done, he shall live. (KJV)
1 John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.(KJV)
Hebrew 8:12 -For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.(KJV)
When we look at Isaiah 55 and Ezekiel 18 we see that both of these passages speak to us about leaving and forsaking our wicked ways of sin, transgression, and iniquity, to stop living a life of unrighteousness and come to the Living God. If we truly repent of what we have done, then He will have mercy and pardon us. Halleluiah! That is an amazing God.
Many of us have gone into sin thinking that this life will bring acceptance from others and will make friendships, but the Lord our God is saying to repent of these ways because they do not make true friendships and give you the acceptance that you desire. Instead, all of those actions have brought you further and further away from the acceptance that you have been looking for, but if you repent and follow Him, He will give you the acceptance that you have been looking for for so long.
One John 1:9 is true acceptance – if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That is true acceptance – someone that is saying that if you come and confess, I will forgive all and you shall My son or daughter. He does not hold your past against you, but He lets it go and no longer remembers it against us (Hebrews 8:12).
In our life, we see friends, family, and co-workers always holding our past mistakes or sins against us, even when they say that they have forgiven us, we can still notice a tension between us or even a stare. We can tell that they have not forgotten or even truly forgiven us. But our God does, He forgives and allows true acceptance for all who come to Him. Once we find Him, then and only then do we truly understand acceptance and what it means to have it from the One who created us.
If you have not accepted Jesus Christ in your life and crave this form of acceptance, please ask for forgiveness of your sins and repent. Turn to Jesus Christ, put Him in your life as your Lord, and as Savior. Ask Him to give you strength in your faith and to be the light and salt He asked you to be. Jesus Christ is the only way, there is no other way, only through Him can you find the true peace and love and acceptance that we all crave and need in our lives.
May God Bless You!