I AM TOTALLY ACCEPTED BY GOD
“To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:6
When I was a teenager, I did some pretty crazy and daring things to try to gain the acceptance of my peers. Even though their acceptance may have been gained for a time, it was only temporary. It would soon fade and I would be back where I started. Does this sound familiar to you?
Let’s face it, human acceptance is often conditional and temporary. We accept those who accept us or are like us. But it is difficult to accept those who are different from us or who may reject us.
God’s acceptance of us is neither conditional or temporary. We learn in Ephesians 1:6 that God totally “accepted” us because we are placed or baptized “in the Beloved” Son of God, Jesus Christ, the moment we believe in Him (Galatians 3:26-27). And because Christ has received us and He is fully accepted by God the Father, we are fully accepted by God, too. Hence, when God looks at us it is as if He is looking at His Son.
My acceptance before God was bestowed upon me by God’s “grace” or undeserved favor through Jesus Christ. The Greek word for “grace” (charis) can have the meaning of “leaning toward someone to share benefits with him.” God pursued me with His grace through Jesus Christ Who paid the full penalty for my sins when He died in my place on the cross (John 19:30) so God the Father can now fully accept me, having no grounds to condemn me (Romans 8:31-34). I do not need to change a thing about myself for God to accept me. My acceptance by God is not based on what I do, but on being in the Beloved as a result of trusting in Him as my Savior.
Think about the implications of this truth for a moment. When I believe in Christ alone for everlasting life, I am accepted by God in the Beloved. No matter what I have done or not done, I am accepted in the Beloved. Although I may commit a terrible sin, I am still accepted in Christ. If I spend more time in jail than I spend in church, I remain accepted in the Beloved. If I fall away from the Lord and die out of fellowship with Him, I continue to be accepted in Christ.
Since I am totally accepted by God through Jesus Christ apart from any merit of my own, I no longer need to try to earn the acceptance of others. I am free to be the person God made me to be by His grace. Being accepted in Christ does not motivate me to live like the devil, it motivates me to live for the One who provided my acceptance through His death on the cross.
Prayer: I praise You Lord God for leaning towards me to extend Your grace to me through the Lord Jesus Christ so that I am now totally accepted by You as a result of trusting in Jesus. Your acceptance of me gives me security that no human being can take away from me. I can now come to You with my deepest darkest secrets knowing that You will still accept me in the Beloved. I can share my greatest fears with You, being confident that You will not turn away from me. No matter what I have done or will do I am fully received by You, God, because You fully received Jesus’ finished work on the cross as sufficient payment for all my sins. I honor You, Lord, for granting me this great privilege. In Jesus’ name. Amen.