Accepted in the Beloved: A Meditation

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.   Ephesians 1:3-6

1.         God's love for us is beyond our ability to fully understand, but not beyond our ability to realize, accept and enjoy.

2.         Why, when fellowship with God is not in order, do we feel unloved by God? Why do so many Christians when they sin feel driven away from God when they should feel driven toward His great love, with a repentant heart?

3.         To really know God is to receive a revelation of His grace.

4.         "Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace."   Ephesians 2:13&14

5.         Through Jesus Christ I am completely accepted by God. Oh, how we as children of God have missed this point in our preaching, teaching and personal revelation!

6.         Christians can spend much time and energy seeking the "will of God" as if it were some commodity or some data statistic to be written out…When we realize as we seek God's face His will becomes natural for us and even spiritually logical, in not only the walking of our everyday lives, but also in matters which are not normal everyday decisions.

7.         If we are to learn more about God, learn more of His nature, His love, then we must live our lives in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

8.         When a person feels unaccepted he sometimes figures, the Lord probably gets tired of his repentance again and again. Instead of being driven to God by his sin; he is driven away, where he cannot find peace or forgiveness.

9.         We need to know more than ever that we are accepted in Christ. When we really get this down into our spirits, then we can accept others. I can accept others only to the degree that I realize I am accepted. How much more harmony there will be as we learn how accepted we are and how to accept others, even with their quirks, their ways, and the things about then that have not yet become like our master.

10.       If you are a Christian and have been born again you are "accepted in the Beloved!"

Summary:

We are fearfully and wonderfully made. In our original design, great care was taken to craft a perfect person in God’s own image. Because of our original parents, we sin. Mercifully and graciously, Christ died for our sins. Loving us, forgiving us, and accepting us before we even came to know Him. Then, upon accepting Christ, God declares that we are accepted in His Beloved Son. We are accepted because of Christ. He has graciously favored us through the Beloved One. So even in our “fallen” state, we are wonderful and acceptable. Why would we not also accept ourselves?

Reference

http://www.lightinside.org/light/accepted.htm