We can’t pursue our truth and at the same expect to be accepted. If we want true acceptance, we need to go to the Designer and the Creator of life who has already defined acceptance on His terms. His standard of acceptance is unchanging!
The Lord has made is clear in His word that by accepting Jesus as the sacrifice for our sins, we will be forgiven and accepted by Him. Those of us who have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior are accepted in the beloved and belong to the Lord. Praise God! This begins the journey in walking with God and living a life of acceptance.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2
The above passage sheds light on how we continue to live and maintain a lifestyle of acceptance in God. As children of God who know they are redeemed, we want to live a life that is acceptable and pleasing to God. That is our act of worship and appreciation for what God has done for us. One of the ways we worship the Lord is to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice. In the light of what Jesus has done for us, we live a sanctified life and are careful not to conform to the patterns of the world. This is what is acceptable to God. He is not expecting us to strive or grope for acceptance. Neither does He want us to fit in the world to be accepted. His perfect will for us is to be dependent on Him, be led by the Spirit of the living God, and give Him room and time to transform us.
finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. Ephesians 5:10
As we walk with God, we will need to continually allow God to show us what is acceptable and pleasing to Him. Just because something is good it doesn’t mean that the Lord wants us to be involved in it. Sometimes it takes time to find out what God’s pleasing and acceptable will is for our lives. In those moments, we continue to live out Romans 12:1-2 and in time He will show us.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 1 Timothy 2:3
Twenty years ago, people were challenged to be tolerant of certain behavior, actions, and lifestyles, but over time, the expectation changed to acceptance and now it is about inclusion. Interestingly, we were told that if we could be tolerant of each other, accept other people for who they are, and be inclusive of the marginalized, then we will have a healthier and more equitable society. In reality, we have seen that man-made mandates on our behavior and our values has not brought about greater unity but only greater confusion and animosity. So how do we bridge the gap!?
The word of God tells us that God is the author of acceptance and inclusion on His terms. He defines what is good and evil. We don’t get to define them. People have a tendency to call someone a “good” person if they like them. They make a determination sometimes on limited exposure to this person and sometimes the individual may not even be a believer. In truth, only the Lord has the authority to set the standard of good and acceptance.
The truth is that these half-baked ideas only sound good in a laboratory of human experimentation, but when they are put into practice, you find that those who are fighting for acceptance and inclusion are not very accepting of those who oppose their views. They also don’t necessarily feel very accepted by others.
People are flaky and ever changing. We cannot rely our security on others’ acceptance. What was acceptable yesterday, it may be looked down upon tomorrow. We can put our confidence on God’s standard and aim to gain His acceptance because He is unchanging and He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. Amen!