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Real Unconditional Acceptance
Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. — John 9:35-38
I absolutely love that after this man gets rejected and cast out by the religious authorities, Jesus went and sought him out. He intentionally looked for him and found him. He found him just like he found the disciples or the lame man by the pool. He sought them out because Jesus loves the unaccepted. Those who are like this man who was unsupported by his parents and rejected by spiritual leaders. But note, this was not "unconditional acceptance."
Acceptance had a condition — a personal belief in Him combined with a public proclamation.
I think a lot of people misunderstand the unconditional acceptance of Jesus. Yes, Jesus loves and accepts the rejected. He is even willing to seek them out and invite them into his acceptance. But this is not an unconditional "saving" acceptance. The Bible teaches that there are some who will and will not be saved. This is because there are some who will and will not accept Jesus. So yes, Jesus does "unconditionally accept" all people, but it only becomes unconditional "saving" acceptance only when we personally and publicly proclaim our faith in Him.
So know this. Jesus accepts you. He accepts you just the way you are, but he doesn't want you to stay that way. Come without condition but know there is one condition — faith in him that must be personally and publicly proclaimed. And once you proclaim this you will know the power and potential of his unconditional "saving" acceptance that fuels a believer's life. And I promise, there is nothing like it.
ASK THIS:
- How does the story of Jesus seeking out the rejected and accepting them without conditions resonate with your own experiences of feeling unsupported or rejected? How does this text offer you hope and assurance of Jesus's love for you?
- Consider the condition of personal belief in Jesus combined with a public proclamation as a requirement for the transformational power of His acceptance. How does this challenge and inspire you to examine your own faith and commitment to Jesus? In what ways can you personally and publicly proclaim your faith in Him to experience the fullness of His unconditional "saving" acceptance?
DO THIS: Publicly proclaim your faith today.
PRAY THIS: God, thank you for seeking out the rejected and offering unconditional acceptance. Help me believe in You and boldly proclaim my faith, experiencing the transformative power of Your love. Amen.
PLAY THIS: No Longer Slaves.
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Thanks Vince, I missed that before. The FIRST time the newly seeing man SAW Jesus was after he had been excommunicated from the Jewish temple. He believed that this Man could heal him, so he did as he was told. Then he was met with opposition and anger because he was healed on a day of religious rest (not his fault). To add insult to injury, these leaders ask his parents, what happened to your son? Was he REALLY blind from birth? As if any parent that loves their child would pretend that their son was blind from birth to the point that their child becomes a homeless beggar. Then they attack this man yet again in public, but like Job, he respectfully listened to disrespectful people until he could bear it no longer and finally rebuked them. Then they attack him one last time and say get out of OUR house of God, like God ONLY lives in that one building, and I am sure this was a tough day for this formerly blind man. Then this newly seeing man, having publicly declared that he DOES want to follow the Man that healed him, and accusing the leaders of also wanting to follow Him, is walking down the road, possibly with his tail between his legs, but possibly also happy that a miracle happened to him and that the leaders revealed their true nature and selfishness. Jesus, I am SURE, knew that this man had just declared that he wanted to follow Him and become His disciple, so He seeks him out and for one of the handful of times in the New Testament, declares in no uncertain terms that He is the Messiah. The fact that this newly seeing man, having only heard Jesus’ voice, was able to recognize Him again, for the first time COMPLETELY, is an amazing gift. “My sheep hear My voice and know who I am, and I know them by name.” This is the thing that comes to mind when I just realized for the first time that this man did not SEE Jesus until after his life had changed radically, even more so than just having the gift of sight for the first time. This man became homeless, essentially, for a second time simply because he was healed in a way that the religious leaders disagreed with. Thank You Jesus for people that help to explain simple things that get overlooked in today’s society and from stories that some of us men have heard many times before, proving that Your Word is alive, and even took flesh in the form of Jesus. God bless you Vince and may you continue to be the mouthpiece of God to anyone willing to listen and take to heart the message that you have to say, inspired by The Bible and The Holy Spirit in you.
So, can I be “that guy!” could the man have rejected Jesus, even though Jesus sought him out?