Accept Rejection

Today I recalled to mind a season when my wife struggled with rejection.  We had arrived in Australia on a visa which prohibited me from working but allowed her to seek employment.  She industriously submitted resumes and applications only to be disappointed by "rejection letters."  The letters of rejection did not work to encourage her to increase her efforts but instead did the opposite:  discouragement made her not even want to try.  We all know how that feels and it is not fun.  Ironically, a time came when she had submitted so many applications without a response that she began to appreciate the rejection letters because at least they responded!

I thought about how this relates to the rejection of the message of the Gospel.  When we open our mouths to share the Gospel, it is likely many of the people we encounter will not respond positively.  It is not a rejection to be taken personally but a rejection of Christ and the message of the Gospel.  Yet we have a way of taking things personally.  After the message is rejected a number of times it is possible we might feel discouraged and like all our effort is for naught.  We might even become disillusioned, wondering how everyone could be so opposed to the wonderful message of salvation.  Are we doing or saying something wrong?  Are we not truly filled with the Holy Spirit?  Maybe we should just lock ourselves in our rooms and pray that God would send someone truly useful into the field.  Cynical thoughts can fill our minds:  fields white with harvest, eh?  I've been out there and it seemed more like a barren wasteland.  I've tried but I'm a failure.  Paralysed by disappointment and our own insufficiency we begin to avoid sharing the Gospel even when opportunities arise, forgetting that it is God who brings the increase.

If I was out of a job and my family and I were starving from hunger, I would approach job hunting very differently from someone who is looking for a convenient part-time job for extra pocket money.  Rejection letters would not deter me when I know my kids are dying of hunger.  I would fill out applications, go to every stall in the mall, and no job would seem below me.  What could I do?  There would be a desperation for work that a piece of paper notifying me I did not land the job would not stop me from looking.  It is not often in our culture that we are fighting for survival.  Most of the time we are angling for convenience and better conditions.  But survival?  We hardly give survival a thought.  I honestly say for most of my Christian life my evangelistic efforts have had more in common with the man looking for a convenient second job than a man desperate for a job to feed his starving family.  It's not hard to say which man we should emulate!

That is the kind of desperation I pray God gives me for seeking and saving the lost.  If people do not hear the Gospel, they will not repent, will not be forgiven for their sins, will never trust in Christ, and will spend eternity in hell.  They will miss much more than the feast of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!  Because I am to love God and others, I must view them as more important than myself.  I am in Christ and my eternity is secure in Him.  But their eternal survival hangs in the balance!  I should view them all as my own weeping children, dying for lack of nourishment.  Should I allow rejection or even violence deter me from seeking their salvation?  Jesus gave His life so I could live.  He is the Living Bread which came down from heaven.  All who partake of Him through faith will never face death.  Though we die, yet shall we live.

Be encouraged!  Don't allow the rejection of your Saviour deter you from doing His work.  All who comes to Him in faith He will accept and embrace.  He has given us life:  let us freely share His life with others!