Practical advice for dealing with rejection
There are 100+ scriptures in the New Testament that refer to ‘one another’, or to ‘each other’, or ‘together’. For example there are such references in the last 5 chapters of Romans.
So we are spoiled for choice in studying what the scriptures say about loving one another. Here is a selection of them.
Romans 15:7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Our basis for accepting each other as brothers and sisters in Christ is that the Lord himself has already accepted each one of us. There can be no higher recommendation than the approval of Jesus Christ. Most of our lives we can struggle to be accepted because many groups, teams and clubs, like you to be good at something e.g. golf, football, hockey, chess, bowling etc., but we accept each other in Christ.
We are now going on a slight detour to discuss what non-acceptance means.
Acceptance versus Rejection
Acts 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: 9 If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, 10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the ‘stone, which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Most of us at some time in life will experience some form of rejection.
Family or so-called friends might decide to terminate their relationship with us under various circumstances.
We might feel let-down, bewildered and angry that people can be as unkind, but it is a lesson unfortunately we need to learn in this world.
Even when we go for a job interview or some selection process for sports or team ventures, we might be rejected. In all these forms of rejection we must be humble, forgiving and fight any tendency towards bitterness.
This what Jesus Christ himself experienced. The one people in the world who should have known who and what the Son of God
would be like, were the Jews. But when He came to them, most of them including their secular and religious leaders rejected and dismissed Him as an impostor. He was the precious stone which the builders rejected yet he was and still is the most important stone in the building known as the church, which is the cornerstone! The corner-stone or capstone is usually laid at a ceremony in honour of a new building.
All the other stones fit in around the cornerstone.
So, is there someone whose judgement that we can trust? When we look at people we can be so influenced by external things, such as their appearance, demeanour, dress sense, personality etc. But when God considers a person, He looks right into their heart. A clear example of this was when the Lord sent Samuel the prophet to anoint one of the sons of Jesse as King over Israel. Samuel considered each one of them from the natural point of view, how tall or handsome that they were. But God makes it quite clear in 1 Samuel 6:7 that He is interested in a person’s heart. The inner qualities not the external are much more important.
So, what does this mean in practice for us in our day to day lives?
Firstly, when we are rejected and put down, our loving heavenly Abba Father is always there to remind us of our true value, which is that you are valuable and precious to Him. So much so that He gave His only begotten Son…John 3:16.
The world’s value system is superficial and dangerous. Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light! Do not trust outward appearances, Jesus told the Pharisees that they were white-washed tombstones, white on the inside but inside dark and horrible, full of dead men’s bones!
Secondly, we must ask the Lord for discernment in all the appropriate areas of life. The wrong choice of a marriage or business partner can easily ruin someone’s life. Running with the wrong crowd of friends has also caused unnecessary suffering and grief in some lives.
We can take a good example from the disciples after the resurrection when they gathered to choose a replacement for the traitor Judas Iscariot. They prayed indicating that only God Himself truly knows what is in a man’s heart and therefore they asked the Lord to show who His choice for the vacant position was. The Lord then spoke to the hearts of the disciples, and they chose whom they believed that the Lord had already chosen.
In conclusion, no matter what people say or do to you, God will always love you and never let you down.
Since only God truly knows a person’s heart, we must ask Him to guide us in all our decisions involving people. We might not always get the answer we want or like, but we can console ourselves by the knowledge that the Lord’s choice will always be the right one!
Amen
Personal Prayer
In Part 3 we return to those wonderful ‘one another’ scriptures.
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