Truehearts
Member
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2005
- Messages
- 512
ACCEPTED by Mutya R. Acebron (Young Women on the Journey)
Read Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:17
I remember my first day in grade one. A group of girl classmates were whispering to each other and then pointing at me. Without hearing their words I felt like an object of derision. My little heart whimpered. When their leader accidentally tossed her eraser in my desk, I hesitatingly gave it back. Surprisingly, she smiled at me and said, "So, you're a good girl after all".
At that time, my little mind formulated this equation: not-so-good-looks + good deeds = acceptable. Hmmm. I may not look beautiful, but if I do good things, others will accept me! As I morphed into a teenager, I longed more and more for acceptance from peers and cliques. I would play the martyr, trying to please and appease others. But even after gaining people's praise, doubt and fear lingered in my mind. "They're just saying that because you're good now. You better keep on pleasing them or else....' This perception spilled over to my relationship with God. I thought that doing good job or being a good daughter or student made me acceptable to Him.
Then one day, I got tired of putting on the "good girl" facade. When my work was not acknowledge or noticed, I became irritated and got hurt easily. In one of those moments, God showed me the true state of my heart. It was full of bitterness, jealousy, vanity, and a twisted form of pride. When I accepted the lie that I was ugly, a disdain towards how God created me grew in my heart. And when I tried to gain love and acceptance through my "good" acts, I was trying to prove I had what it takes - I needed God's help only in the most desperate situations.
Because of my thick-headedness, it took a series of rejections and disappointments - mostly from the people closest to me - to finally realize that the real acceptance and love I crave for can be found only in God, not people. You know what? He accepts me, and you, not because of what we do or look like, but because of what Jesus has done on the cross.
Read Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:17
I remember my first day in grade one. A group of girl classmates were whispering to each other and then pointing at me. Without hearing their words I felt like an object of derision. My little heart whimpered. When their leader accidentally tossed her eraser in my desk, I hesitatingly gave it back. Surprisingly, she smiled at me and said, "So, you're a good girl after all".
At that time, my little mind formulated this equation: not-so-good-looks + good deeds = acceptable. Hmmm. I may not look beautiful, but if I do good things, others will accept me! As I morphed into a teenager, I longed more and more for acceptance from peers and cliques. I would play the martyr, trying to please and appease others. But even after gaining people's praise, doubt and fear lingered in my mind. "They're just saying that because you're good now. You better keep on pleasing them or else....' This perception spilled over to my relationship with God. I thought that doing good job or being a good daughter or student made me acceptable to Him.
Then one day, I got tired of putting on the "good girl" facade. When my work was not acknowledge or noticed, I became irritated and got hurt easily. In one of those moments, God showed me the true state of my heart. It was full of bitterness, jealousy, vanity, and a twisted form of pride. When I accepted the lie that I was ugly, a disdain towards how God created me grew in my heart. And when I tried to gain love and acceptance through my "good" acts, I was trying to prove I had what it takes - I needed God's help only in the most desperate situations.
Because of my thick-headedness, it took a series of rejections and disappointments - mostly from the people closest to me - to finally realize that the real acceptance and love I crave for can be found only in God, not people. You know what? He accepts me, and you, not because of what we do or look like, but because of what Jesus has done on the cross.
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you,
in order to bring praise to God.
Romans 15:7
in order to bring praise to God.
Romans 15:7
