I can often feel unacceptable. I feel I haven’t met the standards to be accepted. I’m not funny enough, kind enough, pretty enough or whatever the standard in my head is. I measure myself by so many standards I’ve set up and always find myself lacking. It is an exercise in futility—work so hard to perform right and be what you have deemed as acceptable, and yet constantly fail and feel as though you can’t measure up.
Sometimes I tell my husband how I feel I have missed the mark on something, and he reminds me that the expectation is my own, not his or anyone else’s. I create standards that are higher than God’s, and beat myself up when I don’t meet the criteria I have established in my head.
Perhaps you struggle with feeling unacceptable. Maybe you had parents who communicated you were not meeting the standard, or the expectation was unknown and thus impossible to meet. Or maybe you have a personality that automatically feels unacceptable because you tend towards perfectionism and can never live up to the expectation for yourself.
Christ says He’s made me acceptable and not because I met a standard. The simple way to acceptance is to accept His gift of making me acceptable. It doesn’t feel right because I want to earn it or do something to deserve it, but put simply, I can’t. I can only receive His Life and as I am covered in His blood, I am acceptable as I am. Can you soak in that? You are acceptable. He is the One and only who can make you acceptable.
Sometimes this is a struggle to take in because of our pride. We want to feel as if we have earned something. But God makes it very clear in Scripture that we can’t earn anything, and must simply come to Him in humility.
Who you aren’t: Unacceptable
Who you are: Accepted
Who God is: Unconditional acceptance
By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise. Romans 5:1-2 (The Message)
What makes you feel unacceptable? Meditate today on your acceptance in Jesus, understanding that you can’t do anything to deserve or earn it.
Interested in reading the rest of the book? You can order Identity: Truth vs. Lie; Short Simple Reminders of Who You Are in Christ here on the website or on Amazon in paperback or ebook form here.