Discover: Accepted and Approved

 

Praise him! His kindness is great and wonderful. We have been accepted by God through Jesus Christ, whom he loves so much. Ephesians 1:6 WE

Acceptance and approval are what so many long for. Humanity goes to great length find this. We all look for someone's approval. We want to be accepted. 

 Humanity goes to great lengths to gain acceptance and strive to receive approval. Be it from family, employers, friends, or peer groups, we long to be accepted. People will change their hair, their clothing style, even their taste in music, just to be accepted. 

 It is more evident in our younger years. Young children and teens sometimes take even greater steps to secure acceptance and approval from their peers. Many want to be approved by their peers. They want to be in the "popular" group, the "in crowd". Sometimes they lose their own identity in pursuit of this acceptance.

  I have good news for those longing to find acceptance and approval.  There is a way to find lasting and permanent acceptance and approval. An acceptance that will never fail or fade away. There is a way to be in the greatest "in crowd" in the entire world.

 This way is only found in and through Jesus Christ. He wants you to be in His "in crowd". His "in crowd" is being in right standing with God. The real "in crowd" is being in right standing, or being made Righteous in Christ.

 Because of Jesus, we who have put our trust in Him alone are forever accepted and approved by our Father in Heaven. 

And so you are no longer called outcasts and wanderers but citizens with God’s people, members of God’s holy family, and residents of His household Ephesians 2:19 VOICE

 When we believed, we were no longer outcasts, no longer strangers, and no longer disconnected from God. In Him, we have divine approval and acceptance. This acceptance is rooted in Jesus' performance and His approval before the Father. Our trust is in His works and obedience; we reap the benefits. 

 ...As He is, so are we in this world. 1 John 4:17b NKJV

 Because of Jesus, we have a relationship with the Father. We are partaking of the New Covenant and are included in all its blessings and benefits. This is not based on our fragile works or doing, it is based on Jesus alone and His perfect work of Redemption. We can't produce it, we can't achieve it, we can never earn it. If we could, why would we need Jesus? Why would we need a Savior?

 Under this divine acceptance and approval, it is not that behavior doesn't matter; it's that behavior and obedience didn't cause it or merit it, therefore, our behavior can't undo it. His divine life, though, is within us now; new nature-new root, produces new desires and new fruit. 

 The beautiful part of this acceptance and approval is that even when we falter or fail, we can't undo or lose this divine approval.  Acceptance and approval remain, because Righteousness has been permanently imputed and is not fluctuating or wavering. Acceptance and approval are not an approval of every choice we make, but of who we are in Him. Identity is found in Christ; attitudes and actions are not who we are.  

 This is the wonderful Good News Gospel of Grace. Because of this acceptance and approval, we now have confidence in God. This produces confidence in prayer, confidence in walking by Faith, and confidence in worshipping our Savior. We have joy unspeakable in following the Lord's leading, knowing even in failure we are secured and approved in Him. 

 Child of God, you are not on probation but accepted and approved. We have union with God because of Jesus. Our identity is found in Him. He loves us, accepts us, and actually likes us. What a Good Father, what a victorious, loving Savior, we have! 

Image by Mustafa shehadeh from Pixabay