A while back, I went on a date with a lady I had met on an online dating platform. We’d been chatting for a few days and decided to meet before going on our respective summer holidays. We met in a park in London and proceeded to go for a walk. All in all, it was a very pleasant experience, and I for one was looking forward to meeting with her again. So, I’m sure you can imagine how I felt when she later told me that she felt there was something missing, and that she wasn’t interested in meeting again. Her message knocked me for six; hitting me so hard that I lost all confidence and self-belief for a number of days. My immediate reaction was to give up on dating and relationships altogether. Fortunately, my best friend was on hand to pick me up, so to speak.
Rejection can be both devastating and debilitating. When rejected for whatever reason, it is as though you have been told that your very being, who you are, is and will never be good enough. It not only batters your confidence, but eats you up from the inside, reducing you to a fading shadow of your true self. It is an agony so tortuous that we often go to great lengths to avoid it at all costs; even if it means bolting the doors shut in order to avoid putting ourselves in danger of any form of it again.
A fear of rejection is one of the biggest reasons why so many, especially the young, are shying away from Christianity.
According to the results of a study by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Berkley Centre for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University, two thirds of millennials not only cited Christianity as too judgemental, anti-gay and hypocritical, but also not gracious, accepting and welcoming. As a result, many of them are either closet Christians, or place themselves in the agnostic or atheist bracket.
If you have shied away from Christianity because you feel or believe you’re not good enough, due to how others perceive you, then this message is for you.
‘The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’
1 Samuel 16 vs 7
Your worth and value to God is not determined by what people see, think, or say of you, but by who you are in Christ. Jesus died for you because he loves you. His love for you is unconditional – irrespective of your mistakes, failings, or your lifestyle. Indeed, he died for all of us, despite our mistakes and failings. We are all broken and flawed in so many ways, and anyone who pretends otherwise is a modern day pharisee.
It is your beautiful heart that he sees. A heart that loves, supports, and encourages others at every opportunity.
Mary Magdelene was a few seconds from being stoned to death for committing adultery, and yet, Jesus saw not her sins and failings, but what lay in her heart – love, kindness, devotion, and loyalty. Only four people were at the foot of the cross when Jesus died – Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary of Cleopas, the apostle John, and Mary Magdalene. She never left his side. She stayed with him no matter what.
Christianity is for you, my dear friend, because Jesus is for you.
Jesus will never reject you.
Jesus will never judge or condemn you.
Jesus will never forsake you.
He loves you for who you are.
You are forever righteous. And you are forever cherished by God.