Gaylord Diaz's Blog

THE PROBLEM

Many of the problems that Christians face today can be directly attributed to rejection. For example, (A) Rejection and Christian Fellowship.  Some people quit coming to church because they labor under the weight of condemnation or rejection. Maybe they sinned or they’re just not spiritual enough. Maybe it’s their skin color or the fact that they’re poor. No matter what the reason may be, there’s condemnation and rejection at work in their hearts. They don’t feel accepted. And so, as a consequence, they quit coming to church. They don’t want to talk to the brothers or sisters. Some even go so far as to withdraw from other Christians and refuse to fellowship with them. For them, being around Christians or hearing a sermon reminds them too much of their failures. It brings bad memories and a renewed feeling of guilt and conviction. So they quit coming to church and fellowshipping with believers. Rejection often leads to alienation, isolation, friendlessness, and loneliness. Asocial, or antisocial, behavior is often the result and byproduct of rejection.

(B) Rejection and the Quality of Life.  People who suffer rejection aren’t happy or joyful. They tend to be bitter, resentful, and critical because of the way they think they’ve been mistreated or rejected by others. They’re confused and tormented. They want to believe God’s forgiven and received them; they want God’s forgiveness and acceptance. But they just can’t bring themselves to believe or receive it. They’re up and down. One moment they’re on top of the world and victorious. Next thing you know, they’re down in the dumps, feeling defeated and discouraged. Rejected people aren’t stable. They don’t have much hope of the future. They don’t have anything good to look forward to. Life isn’t about living: it’s about surviving.

(C) Rejection and A Distant Walk with God.  Rejected people don’t have much of a personal walk with God. Their relationship with God lacks the warmth, intimacy, and joy that’s characteristic of any kind of friendship. They don’t pray a whole lot because they don’t think God will hear their prayer. God’s not listening. They think God’s mad at them because they haven’t been good lately. Rejected people don’t believe in a good, gracious, loving God. They don’t believe that God is going to do anything good for them because they’re so unworthy of His goodness. The more they fail God the more distant they become from Him.

(D) Rejection and Christian Loyalty.  People who battle rejection compromise what they believe or know to be the truth, they compromise their Christian virtue or morality, because they want so much to be accepted by people. They know that if they remain faithful to the truth or the Lord they’ll be rejected or persecuted. Young people especially face this struggle and temptation. Unless they give in to sexual pressure they’ll be rejected and friendless. People who battle rejection don’t want to be rejected: they want to be accepted. Being accepted means more to them than being true or moral. And so, young people will sacrifice their virginity for acceptance; older people will sacrifice their faithfulness for deliverance from persecution. Rejection, I’m saying, is one factor that leads people to compromise Christian truth and morality.

GOD’S LOVE THE REMEDY FOR REJECTION

GOD’S LOVE FOR YOU IS SOVEREIGN AND UNCONDITIONAL!  God’s love is His remedy for rejection. Christian man, woman, or child, God loves you! I John 4:10 reads, Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us. Verse 19 goes on to tell us that God loved us first, before we ever decided to love him: We love him, because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). You see, God’s love for you wasn’t conditioned on your love for Him. God didn’t look down through the corridors of time and decide to love only those who loved Him first. The fact of the matter is, none of us loved God! Not when we were sinners. We only came to love Him because He first loved us: We love him, because he first loved us.

Friend, God’s love for you wasn’t conditioned on you returning or reciprocating that love. God didn’t make a deal with you and said, “I’ll love you if you love Me back.” God chose to love you because He wanted to. His love for you is sovereign and unconditional. It has nothing to do with you loving Him back or you being nice and good to Him. GOD’S LOVE, FRIEND, HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT YOU DO, DON’T DO, OR FAIL TO DO. GOD LOVES YOU JUST BECAUSE HE WANTS TO.

GOD’S LOVE FOR YOU IS UNMERITED!  God’s love for you did not begin when you decided to become a Christian. He loved you long before you were even saved. Romans 5:8 reads, But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. You see, God didn’t start to love you when you decided to get saved. His love for you wasn’t conditioned on your righteous behavior. It wasn’t based on how good you would be or how good you would turn out. God loved you even when you were still a sinner!

What’s really amazing to me is, ALL YOUR SINS COULDN’T STOP GOD FROM LOVING YOU. ALL THOSE YEARS YOU SPENT IN SIN DIDN’T GET GOD TO QUIT LOVING YOU. He kept on loving you in spite of your sins. Do you know why? Because His love for you was sovereign, unconditional, and unmerited. Now, brethren, if God could love you when you were a sinner, why is it so hard to believe that He would love you now that you’re His son or daughter? What sort of God is He who loves a sinner, but hates a son or daughter? No, brethren, God loves you!

Coming Up On My Next Blog, Part 3. A continuing look at God’s love. If you just take God at His Word His love will set you free from rejection. Come on by and see just how much God loves you. Yes, you.