Acceptance helps us Grow

Acceptance is receiving someone into relationship. It applies to all our relationships: with God, others, and ourselves. The Bible teaches that acceptance begins with God: “Accept one another, then just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:7). When Adam and Eve sinned and fell from grace, acceptance posed a problem for God. His holy nature could not accept our sinfulness, yet His love kept Him caring about us. So God provided a costly solution: His Son, fully God, fully man, and without sin. Jesus died for us to atone for our sin (see 1Peter 3:18). This sacrifice appeased the requirement of God’s holiness and restored us to acceptance. There is truly now no condemnation for those who belong to Jesus (Romans 8:1).   

Acceptance frees us from the bondages to the law. Acceptance breaks our bondage to the impossible demands of the law. The law has not been done away with rather, in Jesus, it has been fulfilled (see Matthew 5:17). This truth is very important to spiritual growth. We tend to work very hard to make ourselves good enough for God. This is the law working with in us. Acceptance does away with the need to perform and prove ourselves worthy with good works, and replaces it with relationship.   

Acceptance is central to the growth process. Many people are stuck in their spiritual growth because they can’t completely be themselves. Acceptance creates safety to be and experience ourselves. We can be more honest and vulnerable when we have the freedom to be ourselves. We need to experience the good, bad or broken parts of our souls. What is not brought into the light of God’ love and relationship cannot be matured, healed, and integrated into the rest of our character. Relationships in which we are accepted go a long way in helping us grow. The safety of acceptance promotes spiritual growth.     

Acceptance builds trust and relationship. When people are in an accepting environment, they can stop pretending to be someone they are not. They can rest in the relationship. An Old Testament definition of trust is “to be careless”. Acceptance allows us to be careless in how we talk about ourselves. It is freeing to understand that being known for whom you really are doesn’t ruin the relationship but strengthens it. Relationship cannot occur unless both knowledge and love is present.

Acceptance increases initiative and risk in growth. Acceptance starts movement in spiritual growth. In an environment void of criticism and judgment, people are honest and transparent about issues they haven’t felt safe to discuss before. As acceptance increases, so does confession and confession creates intimacy, healing, and growth. As acceptance increases, so does our awareness of other broken parts of ourselves.  Truly healthy people know they have good parts, but they also know their bad parts. They have the acceptance and grace to deal with them in God’s process of growth. How has resisting the acceptance from God and others kept you disconnected from growth?