When I was a kid one of the cruelest school exercises was choosing teams. Whether it was softball, debate, or whatever, captains were elected. Teachers would then have students stand against the wall while captains would take turns choosing who would be on their teams. So everyone knew who was chosen first, second and so on. And everyone knew who was chosen last. To be chosen last was humiliating – a sign of rejection.
Unfortunately, we live in a world of rejection. All of us have experienced it in one way or another. Maybe as a shy boy you were turned down for a date. Maybe the company president laughed at your re-org idea. Maybe your dad walked out on your family. Maybe your mom constantly berated you. Maybe you are a writer with a wall papered with rejection slips. Maybe you were always the last one chosen for the team. Even worse, maybe they wouldn’t even let you play on the team.
Enough rejection can lead to disorders like fear, feelings of inferiority, anxiety or depression. Rejection can make us feel unwanted, unworthy, unappreciated, and unloved. It causes people to focus on the negative instead of the positive. For example, someone might say, “My, doesn’t your hair look nice today,” but instead of that making us feel good we might say, “Are you saying my hair usually looks lousy?”
It can even lead to perceived rejection in other areas of our lives. In other words, we can think people are rejecting us when they aren’t. This perception becomes our reality because as a man thinks, so he is. (Proverbs 23:7) If you think you’re a loser, you’ll act like a loser.
If you have ever felt rejected you are in good company. Jesus was rejected by those in his hometown (Matthew 13:54-58; Mark 6:1-6), by many of his disciples (John 6:60), and by those he came to save (Isaiah 53:3). After everything God had done for the Israelites they rejected him and wanted a king (1 Samuel 10:19).
God created us for acceptance not rejection. That’s why he will never reject us. We might reject God, but he won’t reject us. He wants us and loves us. In fact he loves us so much he forgave us while we were sinners (Romans 5:6-10). He will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 3:5). He is with us. We are even seated in the heavenly places with him (Ephesians 2:6). All we have to do is embrace God and he embraces us.
The good news is that God has chosen us to be on his team (John 1:12, Acts 10:34). And it doesn’t matter what our skill level is because he’s going to do all of that for us. All we have to do is show up and be ready to participate.
