Accepted by God

To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.  (Ephesians 1:6KJV)

Acceptance.  It’s a beautiful word, one that speaks deeply to our hearts.  Acceptance is one of the greatest blessings that God gives to His children, and so it’s important for us to understand the nature of God’s acceptance and then to rejoice in it.

What is it to be accepted by God?  The Greek word used in the above Bible verse is charitoo, which roughly translates “to make graceful.”  To really understand what that means, you first have to go to the definition of the root word charis, which means “that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness.”  Next, you have to see that we are charitoo, made accepted, “in the beloved,” that is, in Christ.  Putting it all together, the verse means that God looks at us and it gives Him joy, pleasure, & delight because He sees the charm and loveliness of His Beloved Son, of Jesus, in us.  That is absolutely dazzling to me, realizing that God has joy when He looks at me (at me!), because of Christ. 

Another insight into how precious this acceptance really is can be found in the only other use of the Greek word charitoo in the Bible.  In Luke 1:28 the angel Gabriel comes to Mary and says, “Greetings, O favored (accepted) one, the Lord is with you!”  Yes, the way that God looked at Mary, the one He chose to be the mother of Christ, is the way that he looks at us once we are in Christ.

How incredible it is, to be accepted by God.  This acceptance goes beyond love; for you can love someone without accepting them.  You can act in love, being kind and gracious and even sacrificing to them, without seeing them with joy in your heart, without them being beautiful in your eyes.  But not so with God: He both loves us and accepts us.

When I meditate on God’s acceptance of me, I remember that it is full, it is free, and it is forever.  The best illustration of this is seen in the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15.  When the father accepts his wayward son, it is full acceptance: the son immediately is given a fine robe to show his father’s favor, and a ring to show he once again has legal authority as a son of his father. 

The acceptance is free: no conditions are stated; no action or any goodness at all in the son merits the Father’s acceptance of Him.  Actually, under Jewish law the son could have been put to death for his behavior, and at the very least the father should disown him.  But no, the father both forgives him and fully and freely accepts him.  For those of us who have had experiences of conditional acceptance in relationships, the preciousness of full and free acceptance is very real.

Lastly, for the Christian God’s acceptance is forever.  Nothing can snatch us out of God’s hand (John 10:28-29), and nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:35-39).  We can rest in God’s complete and uninterrupted acceptance no matter the fears and doubts that may assail our hearts.

What are the results of focusing on God’s acceptance?  As already mentioned, it brings great peace and joy to our hearts.  It also gives us the freedom to accept others as God has accepted us, in the same way that relishing in God’s forgiveness of us helps us to forgive others (see Matthew 18).  Knowing God’s acceptance also encourages us in our quest for righteousness and holiness.  Knowing that God sees us as lovely, we long to become ever more lovely in His sight, yet we now do not do it out of compulsion or fear or bargaining, but out of a joyful, loving, and grateful heart.

Dwell on God’s acceptance of you today, and let it spur you to feel more loved, to be more loving, and to become more lovely for God’s glory.

You might also enjoy these articles:

1. Constrained by the love of Christ
2. Acceptance