Acceptable part 2
"That's unacceptable!" I think that's one of the most common reactions to things these days. Something isn't exactly how we think it should be, so we won't accept it. And the tragedy of it is when we find each other unacceptable. When we try to make other people live up to OUR standards. As if our standard is THE standard. Jesus addressed this problem in Matthew 23:4, "For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers." The Message Bible says it like this, "Instead of giving you God's Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they packeage it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn't think of lifting a finger to help." Basically, we think we know what's best for someone else and expect them to live up to that standard. On their own. Without any help from us. And when they inevitably fail... well, that's their fault for not being good enough. For being unacceptable. We try to get people to conform. Remember our key verse for this Rant series? "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:2). Don't be conformed. And that word, "conformed" is number 4964 in Strong's Greek Concordance. It means, "to fashion alike, that is, conform to the same pattern." There's only one pattern we should be conformed to. The pattern Son. Jesus. And that's what the cross did. "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29). On the cross we WERE conformed to the image of Jesus. We were accepted in the Beloved. We were washed, and He presented us to Himself as a bride without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. So now, on this side of the cross, Paul is telling us not to be conformed to the world. Not to go back to what we thought we were before we knew the truth. Not to let other people tell us who we should be. Because Daddy has already told us who we are! We are His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased! We ARE acceptable. And if someone thinks otherwise, that's THEIR problem, not your problem. If you try to jump through hoops for someone to be someone you're not you're going to fail. You CAN'T be someone your not. It's impossible. And then YOU are going to get frustrated and THEY are going to get frustrated. It's going to be a bad situation all around. I'm telling you. No matter how hard you try you can never be anybody except who you are. That's why it's so important to KNOW who you are. And that knowledge of who YOU are comes from the knowledge of who JESUS is. He is the truth about us. He is our true identity. We are accepted in the Beloved, because we are in Him (Jesus, the Beloved) and He is in us. We don't try to be like Him. We just be ourselves and let Him be HIMSELF in and through and as us!