A few summers ago I was picnicking with my kids outside of a water park (because I’m one of those moms who are too cheap to pay for the concessions at a theme park) when a wasp must of loved the smell of the sweet grapes I was popping in my mouth and decided to fight me for it by stinging me right in the lip. The rest of the day as we went from slide to slide my lip hurt, it was tender and swollen, and I was paranoid by every flying insect I saw. I’ve been thinking a lot about the sting rejection leaves in our lives lately. Whenever we encounter the sting of rejection it leaves us the same way; hurt, tender, and a little more on edge to the potential dangers around us because we are sensitive to being stung again. I remember the sting of not making 7th grade cheerleader, the sting of the first time a boy broke up with me for a better girl, the sting of not being invited to the girls night out, or worse the sting of a broken friendship. It makes us self protect. We aren’t so quick to try out again, we don’t put ourselves out there with the group of girls in case they don’t include us, and we will only get so close in our friendships just in case they learn too much about our weaknesses and lose interest. Often in our social circles we’ve picked out a group of people that we see as important and subconsciously we think if they accept me and want me as a friend then I also most have value and worth. We put the stamp of approval in their hand and stand before them a vulnerable piece of paper awaiting their stamp of approval. While we wallow in not feeling good enough or important enough they are oblivious to the authority we’ve handed them.
Where do we go from here? How do we put ourselves out there again after we’ve been overlooked, undervalued, or unaccepted? We look to Jesus, not just to fill us with his love and acceptance but also to model for us how to interact in a world with the potential for rejection. Jesus is described in Isaiah 53:3, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men…” 1 Peter 2:4 says, “He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.” That last statement gave him all the worth and confidence he needed to go out and minister to a world full of hurting people. He was loved, honored and chosen by God and so are we, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.” (Eph 1:4). We weren’t cleaned up and important people when God chose us, He didn’t chose us based on our performance or how many friends we had but because of His love. “God chose the foolish things of this world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are, so that no one can boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God-that is our righteousness, holiness and redemption.”(1 Cor1:27-30)
If when we walk into a room we are concerned about our self and getting our needs of approval met then we will unintentionally ignore the pain of others. With eyes on self and our minds on our own insecurity and need for approval we will overlook those who are in need of encouragement or comfort. Jesus, full of his father’s love and acceptance, sought out the rejected. Dining at the home of a tax collector (a very unpopular guy in his day) and calling him to be a disciple and one of his closest friends (Mark 2:13-17). He sat down to have a long life-giving talk with a Samaritan (an ethnic group seen as the lowest of the low at the time) woman whose history with men screamed rejection, and I’m guessing a guy who had been demon possessed and thrashing on the ground would not have been on most people’s hang out list (Luke 8:26-38).
“It is when the Lord thinks well of us that we are really approved, and not when we think of ourselves.” (2 Cor.10:18). If we really want that approved of, fully accepted unconditionally loved feeling that puts our souls to rest we find it when we quit thinking so much about ourselves and start thinking on God’s great love and
Your place is valueble for me. Thanks!
I love it when people come together and share views, great blog, keep it up.