ACCEPTED NOT REJECTED
November 26, 2018
Prayer: May we accept one another as Christ has accepted us, and endure rejection as we pursue God’s purpose for our life.
Scripture: May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. Romans 15:5-7 NIV
On March 2, 1904, Theodor Seuss Geisel was born. He became known as Dr. Seuss, the beloved children’s book author and illustrator. Thanks to him, many of us have tried green eggs and ham, and many other things we thought we would not like “with a fox, or in a box, …on a train or in the rain, …here or there or anywhere.” Many educators boast a red and white striped tall hat in our closet or even displayed proudly in our classroom, and, truth be told, we have cried more than once reading, “Oh the places you’ll go” at the end of the school year. We all probably have our favorite Dr. Seuss lesson or quote from his books; quotes like:
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.”
“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
The one thing that many people do not know about Dr. Seuss was his fierce refusal to be rejected; he rejected rejection as a part of his life and success. The first book published that he both wrote and illustrated, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, required a great degree of persistence – it was rejected 27 times before being published by Vanguard Press. Twenty-seven times! At what point would you have hung up your typewriter and decided that you obviously were not meant to write children’s books? How many rejection letters could you stand to read before you quit? If God has put a calling on your life, a purpose to His glory in your heart, how many rejections will you endure to succeed in what you know needs to be done?
Theodor did not quit and today his name is synonymous with children’s books. He not only helped children to learn to read, he helped them learn to love to read and encouraged valuable life lessons along the way.
How do you respond to rejection? Whose rejection hurts or influences you the most? Have you experienced rejection from other Christians when you were seeking help, encouragement, affirmation, or even just friendship? Today’s verse explains to us the importance of accepting one another in the unity of Christ as He has accepted us. Now I cannot speak for you, put I know personally, that the fact that Christ has accepted me is nothing short of a miracle and proof of His excellent love, grace and mercy. How about you? I find it so much easier to accept another person knowing how hard it must be to accept me. I am NOT talking about accepting the sinful behavior of another, just loving the person and praying for them, encouraging them, not rejecting them but rather helping them with the “one heart and mouth” that glorifies God.
Copyright Kathy Branzell. Email [email protected]