God’s Acceptance
“He has made us accepted in the Beloved.”
Ephesians 1:6 (NKJV)
I don't care how much money you have. I don't care what kind of car you park in the driveway. I don't care where you work or what your salary is. I don't care how many friends you have. I don't care where you take your vacations. I don't care how superlative your health is. I don't care how you matriculate in the marketplace. I don’t care what kind of delicacies you eat on a daily basis.
None of that is stronger in your life than this: You get to live every single day in the extension of God’s forgiveness.
Understanding the depth of your forgiveness gives you permission to accept all of who you are. In other words, I can accept the me that God forgives and accepts. As a result, I don't need to restrict my movement. I don't need to suppress my dreams. I don't need to apologize for my ambitions. I don't have to disqualify myself from active participation in the pursuit of godly things. And neither do you.
I don't have to hold back on what I ask God for. I don't have to read His Word and not see myself in every promise or receive for myself every expression of love. I don't have to hide my thanksgiving or my gratitude or my gifts. And neither do you.
Because God has forgiven and accepted me, I’m moving, I'm chasing, I'm progressing, I'm elevating, and I am working to make things happen. That is the freedom that comes from forgiveness.
This freedom qualifies you to chase the vision framed for you by the revelation God has given you about your life. So go for it. Show up. Present your offering. Offer your worship. Pour out your gifts like perfume on the Master’s feet. Present your body as a living sacrifice.
You don’t stand before Him on the basis of a spotless life. You are there because no matter how spotted your past may have been, you have been forgiven. Forgiveness is worth everything. It's the permission to try everything that God extends. It is what allows you to claim every one of God's promises and to chase every one of God’s blessings.
Because of forgiveness, God accepts you. Accept yourself, and live for Him.
