Acceptance is more than being admitted into a clique or a club. It’s being specially chosen in love without pretense and having grace, honor, and abundant favor bestowed upon you by the One who accepts you.
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Ephesians 1:5-6 says, Having predestined us to adoption as [daughters] by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved (emphasis added).
It is no coincidence that Paul chose to use the same Greek word “charitoo” to tell believers that we are “accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6), as the angel Gabriel used when he called Mary “highly favored” in Luke’s account of their exchange: “And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’ ” (Luke 1:26–28).
When Paul said we are “accepted in the Beloved,” he was saying that in Christ we have been granted the same favor God showed Mary when He chose her in love to bring forth the Messiah.
Mary was no different from any other young Jewish woman. In fact, she said of herself, “The Lord has looked upon the lowly” (Luke 1:48). The Lord chose Mary not because she was better than anyone else, but out of the council and delight of His own will, and Mary responded to God’s favor with faith.
Luke 1:45 says, Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.
That is the same reason He chose you and me. Faith is God’s only requirement to receive His acceptance and every blessing that comes along with it (Hebrews 11:6).
I’m sure there were people who never accepted Mary or believed her story of conceiving a son by the Holy Spirit. I’m sure there were those who chose to believe that our Savior was the product of an ill-begotten pregnancy. I don’t think it mattered to Mary what other people thought of her. It did not matter if they accepted her or not, or believed her story. Mary believed what the Lord had spoken to her, and she was able to rest in His grace and favor and experience His plan for her life come to pass.
Even though you are accepted by God, there will be people who try to make you feel like you don’t belong where God placed you. People may look down upon you because of your past, their assumptions about you, or simply because you are different from them. But if God is for you and He accepts you, His favor and grace will lead you into the place and the inheritance He has for you.
We crave acceptance because we were created that way by God as part of His plan.
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He created us to belong to something greater than ourselves, to fit together with other people who will celebrate us and help us become all the God created us to be, not just tolerate us. When you know that you are accepted by God you won’t look to the wrong people or places to find where you belong. But sadly, too often we stay in relationships and situations that are not right for us in search of acceptance. We go into new opportunities without seeking God in prayer to direct us into His favor, seeking approval.
However, God wants us to receive His acceptance and learn to accept ourselves so we won’t settle for the wrong kind of acceptance and forfeit our inheritance in Him.
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In the story of Ruth, When Naomi and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem, Ruth asked Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor” (Ruth 2:2). Ruth could have tried to glean from any field, but by wisdom, she chose to go in the way of God’s favor. This resulted in Ruth and Naomi coming into the beautiful inheritance and destiny God had planned for them. Beloved, when you choose to receive the gift of God’s acceptance, He will set people along your path who will accept you, favor you, and help you step into your destiny.
Ruth could have tried to glean from any field, but by wisdom, she chose to go in the way of God’s favor. This resulted in Ruth and Naomi coming into the beautiful inheritance and destiny God had planned for them. Beloved, when you choose to receive the gift of God’s acceptance, He will set people along your path who will accept you, favor you, and help you step into your destiny.
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