Rejection

Today's reading was Luke, chapter 10. In this chapter, Jesus chooses more disciples, seventy-two of them, and sends them ahead to the villages he plans to visit. Accordingly, he also gives them instructions as to what awaits them and how they will be received. Of particular interest to me is verse 16.

Then he said to the disciples, “Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.” Luke 10:16

This is encouraging. This is very encouraging. It helps us to keep plugging ahead at what God is telling us to do. It tells me that we shouldn't take rejection personally. If someone doesn't want to hear God's message for them, it's God they are rejecting, not us, as his messengers. If we are in a position of leadership within our church body, and others are not listening to what we have to say, that's okay. It's important that we don't take that rejection on ourselves and become discouraged. We should continue delivering God's word as he prompts us, because it is him who is being rejected, not us. When we are sharing with an unbeliever and they brush aside what we have to say to them, we should not take that rejection on ourselves and never try again. We should be persistent with God's word.

We need to live what we teach, we are responsible only for ourselves, not for other people. We are responsible for our own conscience, and as long as we continue sharing and doing what God has asked, we are going to meet God with a clean conscience. The rejection of others is not our fault, nor is it our conscience that is affected. It is theirs, and if we have shared what needs to be shared, the rest is on them. This verse in 1 Thessalonians should be taken to heart.

"Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you." 1 Thessalonians 4:8