acceptance |akÀàsept…ôns|

noun
1 the action or process of being received as adequate or suitable 
approval or favorable regard : the options proposed by the report gained acceptance.

All of us have a need to belong that is wired in to our being.  We all want to be accepted and know that others approve of us.  No matter what country, culture, people, or tribe all have traditions of acceptance.  These traditions vary from slaughtering a bull and drinking it’s blood, to going on a walkabout, to  graduating high school or college.  Each “rite of passage” trying to achieve the same purpose to be accepted.
Think for a moment how important acceptance is in your school.  People will go to great lengths to be approved of by others.  They will adhere to certain dress standards, be particular in their music choices, they will change their appearance with makeup and hairstyles, some will even begin to speak a certain way to be accepted.  It is acceptance that drives us to do the things we do and be the person we are.  Even those who feel that they are a “non-conformist” seek the approval of their “non-conformist” peer group.

Outside of our peer groups it is our parents approval that matters the most.  We all want our parents to tell us they’re proud of us.  We want our parents to recognize our achievements, our good decision making, and our character.  When we think that our parents approval is impossible or that we are continually rejected we rebel and go to the extreme opposite.  We take the mindset, “if they think I am this way I might as well be that way.”  The point is that even our rebellion is driven by that need for acceptance.

In his book Mortal Lessons Richard Seltzer MD writes:  I stand by the bed where the young woman lies, her face postoperative, her mouth twisted in palsy, clownish.  A tiny twig of the facial nerve, the one to the muscles of the mouth has been severed.  She will be thus from now on.  The surgeon had followed with religious fervor the curvature of the flesh; I promise you that.  Nevertheless, to remove the tumor in her cheek I had to sever the nerve.  Her young husband is in the room.  He stands on the opposite side of the bed and together they seem to dwell in the evening lamplight, isolated from me, private.  Who are they, I ask myself, he and this wry mouth I have made, who gaze at and touch each other so generously, greedily?  The young woman speaks, “Will my mouth always be like this?” she asks.  “Yes” I say, “it will.  It is because the nerve was cut.”  She nods and is silent.  But the young man smiles.  “I like it” he says, “It is kind of cute.”  All at once I know who he is.  I understand and lower my gaze.  Unmindful, he bends to kiss her crooked mouth and I am so close I can see how he twists his own lips to accommodate to hers, to show her that their kiss still works. 

This story is so powerful to me, so romantic.  The surgeon is not without care but has a callousness to him that is necessary to perform his job effectively.  In contrast the young man is so warm and wanting to reaffirm his wife that he loves her and nothing can change that.  Then there is the poor young woman understanding what had happened in surgery and coming to terms with a disfigured face.  It is however the kiss that sums up the story and shows us the acceptance the husband offers to his wife.  

As powerful as this story is I think the story of God’s love and acceptance for you is even greater.  Take some time and work through these scripture references and questions.  

Please pray and ask God to help you focus and give you understanding of his word.

Read Titus 3:3-7

1.  When Paul uses the term “We” who is he speaking of?

 

2. ¬†Write out the things that Paul says, ‚ÄúAt one time we were…‚Äù¬† Circle the things that describe(d) you.

 

 3. List the ways in which God responded toward us?  

 

 4. Why do you think God responds to us in this way?

 

Read Romans 3:10-18

5. Summarize this passage in your own words.

 

6. Do you believe this passage is true?  Why or why not?

 

Read Romans 3:20-25

List out God’s response to us.

 

7. Why do you think God responds to us in this way?

 

Read Romans 5:5-10

8. What was our status to God before Christ died for us?

 

9. Would you die for an enemy? Before you answer let me define enemy: the person who hates you, the terrorist, the person who gossips about you, the rapist, the person who teases you, the murderer, the person who scoffs at you, the pedophile, the person who destroys your peace.  Would you die for them?  Why or why not?

 

10. What is our status with God after Jesus died for us?

 

11. Why do you think God responds to us in this way?

 

Read  John 3:16

12. Write down what this verse means in your own words.

 

13. Re-write the verse now and personalize it with your name. 

 

14. Take some time and define in your own words “God’s Love”.

 

15. Do you think you are accepted by God?  Why or why not?

 

16.  Write a psalm (song) of praise