It is hard to deal with rejection, but even so that is part of our mission. Not every person we invite to church will come. Not every person we share our faith with will be interested. Not every person we tell the good news to will receive it (and in many cases will flat-out reject it). But there are ways of dealing with rejection, and Jeremiah was certainly an expert. This week we will be thinking about Jeremiah's mission and how he overcame rejection in order to faithfully carry God's message to His people.
"For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you."
(Psalm 71:5-6)
One of the antidotes to rejection is hope. The Psalmist does not put his hope in acceptance by his enemies, or even his friends. His hope is in the sure knowledge that the Lord has accepted him. The Psalmist is able to put his hope in God because knows that he can rely on God; the Lord is his rock of refuge, to whom he can always go. Thus the Psalmist has a hope and a home. He also has a hero, in the sense that when the difficulties of life are overwhelming, the Lord is there to rescue Him. Jeremiah had that same confidence. He had a hero, a home, and a hope. By the way, you have them, too. Rest in that sure knowledge as you share the good news of Jesus Christ. You may face rejection, but you have a hero, a home and a hope to see you through.
"All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way." (Luke 4:28-30)
I often forget that not everything was sunshine and roses for Jesus, even fairly early on in His ministry. Not everyone who heard His message responded well. In fact, it is fair to say that many, and perhaps most, did not respond well. Jesus had hundreds or perhaps thousands of followers at the peak of His popularity, but that number quickly dwindled and, at the end, no one was left except for a few women who could do nothing more than watch from a distance as their Lord was crucified. It should be no surprise to us, therefore, that the message we have been chosen and consecrated to share will not always be met with joy. There will be plenty of rejection along the way, but we have a mission of rejection, so to speak, and are called to faithfully preach that message, the good news of Jesus Christ, even if no one responds with joy.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)
Another powerful tool for handling rejection is love. When you love someone deeply, you do so even when that love is, at least for the moment, rejected. I don't stop loving my children when they don't obey me. In fact I persist in trying to raise them to be obedient even in the face of rejection. I do that because I love them and want what is best for them. If we are to deal with the rejection we will experience when preaching the good news, we must be sure to share that word out of love, so that we might bear that rejection gladly because we love deeply.
'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.'”
(Jeremiah 1:4-5)
Rejection stings, but that sting is relieved somewhat if we remember whose we are. Jeremiah had a difficult job to do, but he knew without a doubt that the Lord would be with Him. In fact, the Lord had been with him all along, since before He had formed Jeremiah in the womb. That same promise is given to us. We have always belonged to God. "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb." (Psalm 139:13) Loving those we bring God's message to helps us deal with rejection. Knowing that we are loved by God helps too.
“Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 1:17-19)
The Lord promised Jeremiah that there would be resistance to God's message. The people would reject the Word of the Lord. But Jeremiah would never be alone. Nor would he be overcome. In the midst of adversity the Lord would come and rescue Jeremiah, protecting his heart and making it clear that Jeremiah belonged to God. We have that same promise in Romans 8:37, where Paul wrote, "But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us." The reference to "these things" is the resistance and rejection we experience in the world as we bring God's message to them. But like Jeremiah, God never leaves or forsakes us, and through His grace we end up more than conquerors.
Good Sabbath! I look forward to worshiping with you as we celebrate all that the Lord has done for us as our Rock and our refuge to which we can always go. See you at church!
It is hard to deal with rejection, but even so that is part of our mission. Not every person we invite to church will come. Not every person we share our faith with will be interested. Not every person we tell the good news to will receive it (and in many cases will flat-out reject it). But there are ways of dealing with rejection, and Jeremiah was certainly an expert. This week we will be thinking about Jeremiah's mission and how he overcame rejection in order to faithfully carry God's message to His people.
ReplyDelete"For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord,
ReplyDeletemy confidence since my youth.
From birth I have relied on you;
you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.
I will ever praise you."
(Psalm 71:5-6)
One of the antidotes to rejection is hope. The Psalmist does not put his hope in acceptance by his enemies, or even his friends. His hope is in the sure knowledge that the Lord has accepted him. The Psalmist is able to put his hope in God because knows that he can rely on God; the Lord is his rock of refuge, to whom he can always go. Thus the Psalmist has a hope and a home. He also has a hero, in the sense that when the difficulties of life are overwhelming, the Lord is there to rescue Him. Jeremiah had that same confidence. He had a hero, a home, and a hope. By the way, you have them, too. Rest in that sure knowledge as you share the good news of Jesus Christ. You may face rejection, but you have a hero, a home and a hope to see you through.
"All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way." (Luke 4:28-30)
ReplyDeleteI often forget that not everything was sunshine and roses for Jesus, even fairly early on in His ministry. Not everyone who heard His message responded well. In fact, it is fair to say that many, and perhaps most, did not respond well. Jesus had hundreds or perhaps thousands of followers at the peak of His popularity, but that number quickly dwindled and, at the end, no one was left except for a few women who could do nothing more than watch from a distance as their Lord was crucified. It should be no surprise to us, therefore, that the message we have been chosen and consecrated to share will not always be met with joy. There will be plenty of rejection along the way, but we have a mission of rejection, so to speak, and are called to faithfully preach that message, the good news of Jesus Christ, even if no one responds with joy.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)
ReplyDeleteAnother powerful tool for handling rejection is love. When you love someone deeply, you do so even when that love is, at least for the moment, rejected. I don't stop loving my children when they don't obey me. In fact I persist in trying to raise them to be obedient even in the face of rejection. I do that because I love them and want what is best for them. If we are to deal with the rejection we will experience when preaching the good news, we must be sure to share that word out of love, so that we might bear that rejection gladly because we love deeply.
"The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
ReplyDelete'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.'”
(Jeremiah 1:4-5)
Rejection stings, but that sting is relieved somewhat if we remember whose we are. Jeremiah had a difficult job to do, but he knew without a doubt that the Lord would be with Him. In fact, the Lord had been with him all along, since before He had formed Jeremiah in the womb. That same promise is given to us. We have always belonged to God. "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb." (Psalm 139:13) Loving those we bring God's message to helps us deal with rejection. Knowing that we are loved by God helps too.
“Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 1:17-19)
ReplyDeleteThe Lord promised Jeremiah that there would be resistance to God's message. The people would reject the Word of the Lord. But Jeremiah would never be alone. Nor would he be overcome. In the midst of adversity the Lord would come and rescue Jeremiah, protecting his heart and making it clear that Jeremiah belonged to God. We have that same promise in Romans 8:37, where Paul wrote, "But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us." The reference to "these things" is the resistance and rejection we experience in the world as we bring God's message to them. But like Jeremiah, God never leaves or forsakes us, and through His grace we end up more than conquerors.
Good Sabbath! I look forward to worshiping with you as we celebrate all that the Lord has done for us as our Rock and our refuge to which we can always go. See you at church!
ReplyDelete