UCB Word For Today:
26 Dec 2014
ACCEPTED BY GOD!
‘He made us accepted in the Beloved.’ Ephesians 1:6
There’s no pain worse than rejection and no pleasure greater than acceptance, which helps explain the length some people go to in order to avoid rejection and earn acceptance. But the good news is, with God you’re already accepted. J.B. Phillips translates Ephesians 1:6 like this: ‘He… has made us welcome in the everlasting love He bears towards the Son.’ And that’s not limited to those who appear worthy because of their good deeds and a flawless moral record; it’s for every believing child of God, lock, stock and barrel! Cromwell once commissioned a self-portrait. The artist, courting Cromwell’s favour, portrayed him without his obvious imperfections. Cromwell was livid. ‘I said paint me, man–me, warts and all!’ You’re accepted by God, ‘warts and all’. But note: 1) God’s acceptance doesn’t equal His approval. He accepts sinners, but He can never accept our sin. Indeed, His free gift of acceptance is our greatest motivator to renounce our sin and live to please Him (Titus 2:11, 12). 2) God’s acceptance is unconditional. He doesn’t say, ‘You’re accepted if you clean up your act.’ In the words of Jeremiah, ‘Can a leopard take away its spots? Neither can you start doing good, for you have always done evil’ (Jeremiah 13:23 NLT). God’s acceptance has to be unconditional, because it’s impossible for us to merit it. 3) God’s acceptance is because of Jesus. You’re ‘accepted in the Beloved’. The doomed Mephibosheth was accepted because of David’s relationship to his beloved friend Jonathan (2 Samuel 9). And as long as God accepts Jesus, and you trust in Jesus, you’re accepted as well.
27 Dec 2014
ACCEPTING YOURSELF
‘Predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.’ Romans 8:29
Studies show that many of us don’t like ourselves. A poll of college students confirmed that over 50 per cent suffered from low self-acceptance, with the majority citing their looks as the source of their unhappiness. ‘My nose is too long. My eyes are too small. I’m too fat here–too thin there. I’m too short–too tall. I’ve got freckles.’ And the beauty industry is more than willing to darken it, lighten it, accentuate it, lift it, tuck it and cover it up in an attempt to sell us a self-image we can accept. A little improvement might indeed be beneficial, but not as a basis for self-worth. Here’s how God sees the issue: ‘Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, “Stop, you’re doing it wrong!” Does the pot exclaim, “How clumsy can you be?”‘ (Isaiah 45:9 NLT). You are God’s personal creation. And He makes no mistakes, overlooks no details and leaves nothing unfinished. You need to accept yourself because He created, redeemed and accepts you. In an age of media overload, we’re bombarded by images of perfect-looking people, with the inference that we need to look like them if we hope to amount to anything. But Paul says: ‘We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise’ (2 Corinthians 10:12 NIV). The God Who made you who you are has a plan for perfecting you. You’re perfectly acceptable, if not yet acceptably perfect. You’re ‘predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son’. So you’re a work in progress!
BobOnLife 