Power of Acceptance

……….to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

(Ephesians 1:6, NKJV)

There are some verses and words which stand out of a page as one reads a passage.  The above verse is one such for me, and I found myself focusing on two words: accepted and beloved all founded on the truth that it is all by grace and to the glory of God.  Since the days of the early church, believers have referred to each other as ‘beloved’, and I ask beloved of who?  We are the beloved of our Father God, who loved us and all mankind enough to send His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross and reconcile us to God (John 3:16).  The Father has loved us not just because He created us but because we are His image, He is keen that we receive His love as His children, He is interested in His family, a Father with His children.  His love is so great that He did not spare His Son Jesus to redeem us and when we accept Jesus’ sacrifice, then we become the children of God, His beloved. What a love by the Father which makes us “beloved”, it is not just a reference to a people but a confirmation of an active love binding us to Himself.  My brother my sister, you and I are the beloved of the Father, we are the flock of His pasture and it is His good pleasure to give us His Kingdom (Luke 12:32), He brags on us as His own not by our works but by His grace alone.

Our reference verse lets us know that we are accepted, not just by any other entity but by the Father God.  Acceptance paints the picture of being welcomed, being considered valuable, adequate, valid, belonging.  It elicits a warm feeling of knowing that one is complete as is and does not need to change so as to gain any greater access.  Our Father is holy, yet even when we come to Him just as we are, we are accepted, we are made whole and enough.  Indeed, the Bible reminds us that we are made complete in Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:10).  Our fallen and weak statue is no longer important to the Father, as we come to Him, He says we are ‘enough’ and He accepts us in the fold of His beloved.  This is a place to sit in, soak in the revelation of the Father’s love to us, the love of His acceptance which is in spite of ourselves.  He does not expect us to help ourselves to be better, He takes us as we are, makes us complete and calls us His own.  Beloved of the Father, what more could we desire but to know deep in our knower that what God says of us is truly what we are, accepted?  There is power in agreeing with the Father’s acceptance of us more so on an individual level, knowing it for yourself.  The beauty of this ‘knowing’ is that it grounds us, giving us a place of rest and refuge, a place of strength.

Beloved, even as we have been accepted by the Father, we are also to extend acceptance to others.  In our relationships and daily interactions, we need to communicate acceptance to others.  When we do, we validate them and allow them to be all what they are meant to be, we give them permission to show up in their best versions.  Just as we are broken people, we are surrounded by broken people. These situations call for acceptance and we each can extend it to others, Paul encourages us to do so (Romans 15:7) reminding us that we too have been accepted by Christ.  When we show acceptance of others in our circles, we demonstrate the love of God to mankind.  Every living creature desires acceptance and we can reach out to others, more so those who God has allowed us to interact with.  Let us use acceptance to empower each other. You ARE wholly accepted into the beloved of our Father. Amen.

Thoughts:

Are you a member of the Father’s beloved family?

How secure are you in the Father’s acceptance?

How does the Father’s assurance of your acceptance influence your life?

Are there people you could extend acceptance to?