Lessons in Acceptance
Acceptance, it’s what each of us desires no matter what position we hold, role we play or image we project to others, it is the nature of man that desires acceptance. Though, the “who” we are accepted by may vary from person to person, the “why” by which we are, will almost always begin with us. It’s a heart matter and it is from our motives that we project to others what we are most thirsty for.
In the fourth chapter of Genesis, we find such a lesson as both Cain and his brother Abel both brought sacrifices to The Lord. Cain (the skilled farmer) sacrificed some of his produce in which he’d grown in the field by his own hands, while Abel (the sheppard) sacrificed some of the first and finest of his cattle which he gave as an offering unto God:
“The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Gen. 4:4b-7
Anyone who has ever been in or been given privy to a family where one child seemed to be favored over another can certainly relate to what was going on here. We can see now that God was setting a standard for what would be the ultimate sacrifice, who is Jesus, The Holy Lamb of God, the one who’d take away the sins of the world once and for all, but Cain didn’t know that back then and I would venture to say, neither did Abel. We don’t see where God had told man the kind of sacrifice that he preferred, but He used their sacrifices, at this point, to teach a lesson in acceptance that would please Him, not them.
Both were given the same lesson. Both were given an opportunity to see what was in their hearts (“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”) Matthew 6:21
Even though Abel had given an offering that pleased God, there was another test often missed, it was his attitude in which he gave. He could’ve gotten caught up in pride, which happens sometimes when we think our acceptance in one area, qualifies us in another. Remember Peter?
When Jesus asked his Disciples who men said he was, they told him how some said he was a prophet of old, John the Baptist and on and on:
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[b] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[c] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[d] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[e] loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:15-19
Simon (the reed – listener) Peter must have really felt accepted by Jesus by the revelation he’d been given that day. I mean how special is that to be called “The Rock” by Jesus, and given the “keys to the Kingdom of heaven”? Now that’s some kind of validation of acceptance! Fast forward to verses 21-23 of this same chapter:
21 “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Peter was the only one of the twelve Disciples to have had the revelation of who Jesus was and thereby, had given the acceptable answer. But what was in his heart was revealed when the One by whom he was accepted, life was being threatened. This would not only mean Jesus was about to face these things, but Peter as well.
There are example after example of what is “acceptable” to God and what He requires of us, and yet there is ultimately this issue we have when challenged to give what He desires or what we desire to give. Saul was challenged with it when told by Samuel to utterly destroy the Amalekites, but instead decided to keep king Agag alive and the best of all that belong to them to be used as a “sacrifice” unto God. (Samuel 15) When Samuel returned and heard the bleating of the sheep and called him out on it, Saul responded:
“But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”
22 But Samuel replied:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” 1 Samuel 15:20-23
When we understand and embrace that God only has good plans for His people and that His love is such that nothing we can sacrifice in obedience to Him will ever be more than what He desires to give to us. The old saying “Ninety nine and a half, just won’t do” couldn’t be more apropos when it comes to giving God what He requires of us when He has told us or shown us what it is. It’s not all about works or “bus-i-ness” either; it’s about knowing what pleases Him and when. How important has seeking His will been to you and what have you been willing to sacrifice? What has he told you to do and have you done it? Are you more concerned that someone else is not doing what you think they ought to be than suring up your own relationship with Him? In Luke 10, we see this lesson:
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[f]Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Sometimes, what He requires and what is needed is for us to simply, “be still” and to sit at his feet. This doesn’t mean we’re not doing anything (as some would imply), but is a postured, conscience act of quieting the soul in order to hear Divine instruction, strategies and to receive revelation from God. One supernatural Word from The Lord can do in five minutes what would take years of laboring in the natural. God the creator of the universe is our Daddy! Think about it: The Sovereign, All knowing, All powerful, Omniscient and Omnipresent, is Our God, yet he is Our Abba Father!
His Love is limitless. His Grace is plentiful and His mercy endures forever. It was new this morning and sitting beside our beds waiting for us to acknowledge it. His Goodness followed you from room to room, out the door and is with you now. He only asked you to give him your very best in obedience to what He has spoken to you. Don’t let the things going on around you interfere with what He has done for you and what He is working out on the inside of you.
When you know who you are, who’s you are and that the only real acceptance you need, has already been obtained, you are then free to walk in this confidence no matter what situation you find yourself in. It won’t matter who likes you or who doesn’t, where you live, what you do for a living, your economic status, educational background, your ethnicity, what political party is in place or who’s in office, “You” are accepted in the Beloved:
5 “Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us “accepted in the Beloved”.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” Ephesians 1:5-7
