SalvationSample

Jesus Understands Rejection

He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.


Rejection is so hard. It always hurts. Sometimes it hurts so badly that we don’t know if we will survive the wound. The fact is that we spend a lot of energy avoiding the pain of rejection. How do we do this? We don’t let people get too close. We don’t take risks. We play it safe. We don't show our true selves.


Ah, the pain of rejection! It can hurt so badly. Think with me, no, feel with me, a few examples, big and small:

· A little boy is the last one chosen for the baseball game.

· A fourth-grade girl isn’t accepted by the cool girls in her school.

· A high school girl is not invited to the prom.

· A teenage boy is afraid to call a girl because he fears rejection so badly.

· A young girl feels so hurt because her parents never have much time for her.

· A young man’s girlfriend breaks up with him.

· A high school senior is not accepted to the college where her closest friends are going.

· Your friend betrays you by telling someone your secret.

· The forty-year-old man cannot find a job after losing his last one.

· Your spouse leaves you for someone else, and your heart feels like it is ripped right out of your body.


Rejection. The human heart can barely survive it. Sometimes it doesn’t survive. Jesus knows all about it. He understands. You see, Jesus was rejected. By millions. By His own people. By the very people He created, the very people He loved, the very people He died for. “He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”


Jesus understands our rejection. He will never reject us. He will always welcome us and embrace us with open arms. In fact, He will pour so much love and acceptance into our hearts that we can risk rejection again, because we have found acceptance in the One who matters most.