Have you ever been kicked out of something? A club? A friendship? A home? One of the greatest struggles we can experience is when we suddenly find ourselves removed from a place where we felt secure.
A few years ago, someone decided that Pluto could no longer be categorized as one of planets of our solar system. It got downgraded to asteroid #1134340. Now, if Pluto had feelings, it would likely have felt a little ticked off when it got the news. One day it’s in, the next day it’s out! We can all identify with the frustration and hurt Pluto would have felt, if a former planet could have feelings. We all know, sooner or later, what it is like to be rejected.
One of the greatest needs we all have is that inner need to belong. We want to know that we fit in. We want to know that somehow, to someone, we matter.
The good news is that you matter the most to God. And more than anything else, He wants you to know that He not only cares, but as far as He is concerned, you belong. God loves you so much that He will not let you go, even when everyone else turns their back on you.
In Jesus’ day, there were none that had a tougher time than the blind, the lame, the lepers and the deaf. They had no place, no name, no value. They were extra baggage on the side of the road. But when everyone was calling them garbage, Jesus reminded them that God called them treasures.
If you are feeling that you’ve been rejected, remember God sees you as His treasure and He claims you. He claims you with all your faults, mistakes and missteps. God loves you enough to forgive you of all of that.
In Hebrews 8:12 God says, with regards to our sins, “I will remember them no more.”
Isn’t that a great promise? When we ask God to forgive us, He does, and He forgets our blunders and sin. He simply erases the board.
He gets rid of the evidence. He deletes it from His computer. God does a lot for us, but one thing He refuses to do is to remember our sin. God is faithful even when we are not.
Often we are the ones who know best what is going on in our lives, we see the flaws, He knows our feelings of rejection.
Still, God accepts us and loves us.
An example of this is the picture of an elderly man and a woman who have been married for 50 years. The last 10 years have been marred by her dementia. The husband did the best he could to care for his wife at home, but she grew sicker and he grew older. So he had to admit her to a full-time care facility. One day, the man asked his pastor to visit his wife. When the pastor arrives, he finds the wife’s room spotless. She is lying on the bed, bathed and dressed, although she really isn’t going anywhere.
“I arrive at 6:15 a.m.,” the husband beams. “You’d think I was on the payroll. I feed her, bathe her, and stay with her. I will until one of us dies.”
Now, as great as that husband’s love may seem, it reminds us of how much God loves you and I and remains committed to us in every stage of life, even when those we once counted on reject us.
Have you ever wondered why Jesus came to earth, why He endured birth in a human womb, why He swapped heaven in order to stand in the dust of a carpenter’s shop? The reason is love. His hometown kicked Jesus out. A so-called friend turned against Him. He was rejected by those closest to Him and He ended up on a cross. Why did He put up with that? Because no rejection could keep Him from loving you in your darkest and loneliest moment.
Ephesians 5:2 says, “He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of Himself to us.”
God loves you and accepts you with an unearthly love. The world may punt you out at times, but God claims you. There is no greater hope than that!
This Faith Matters column is brought to you by Tri-Community Baptist Church in Beiseker.
