Reject
I'm amazed at how many people accepted the message in the book of Acts. It says that people were "added daily." I know alot of church who would love to grow by conversion growth at a rate of 365 per year! And some days it was on the order of "thousands per day." That is absolutely astounding. But I think we overlook the quantity of rejection and persecution they experienced as well. I think our ability to handle rejection has a huge bearing on us spiritually. I find two clues in Acts 13 to help us deal with it.
Acts 13:46 says, "Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles." That is fascinating. The early believers didn't take rejection personally. They put the ball back in the court of the rejectors. They recognized rejection of the gospel for what it is: the rejectors were only hurting themselves! And they basically said that anybody who rejects the message "doesn't consider themselves worthy." What a way to frame rejection! So when someone rejects the message we don't have to feel bad like we've somehow failed. We feel bad for them because they don't consider themselves worthy. Instead of doubting themselves, the disciples felt bad for the rejectors because they are the ones "missing out." They didn't think of themselves highly enough (see themselves the way God sees them) to accept the message.
And Acts 13:51 says, "They shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit." They didn't allow rejection to rob their joy! That is so impressive to me. How did they do it? How did they maintain the joy when the world was persecuting and rejecting them? They literally "shook the dust off their feet." That is a fascinating "ritual" that happens throughout the gospels as well. I think most of us carry rejection around with us and it weighs us down. But we need a ritual way of releasing rejection. It may be ripping a picture and keeping that shredded picture as a reminder. It may mean writing out a confession and then flushing it down the toilet. It may mean a bonfire like Acts 19:19. One way or the other, we need ritual ways of burying the past. Otherwise the past buries us!
Acts 13:46 says, "Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles." That is fascinating. The early believers didn't take rejection personally. They put the ball back in the court of the rejectors. They recognized rejection of the gospel for what it is: the rejectors were only hurting themselves! And they basically said that anybody who rejects the message "doesn't consider themselves worthy." What a way to frame rejection! So when someone rejects the message we don't have to feel bad like we've somehow failed. We feel bad for them because they don't consider themselves worthy. Instead of doubting themselves, the disciples felt bad for the rejectors because they are the ones "missing out." They didn't think of themselves highly enough (see themselves the way God sees them) to accept the message.
And Acts 13:51 says, "They shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit." They didn't allow rejection to rob their joy! That is so impressive to me. How did they do it? How did they maintain the joy when the world was persecuting and rejecting them? They literally "shook the dust off their feet." That is a fascinating "ritual" that happens throughout the gospels as well. I think most of us carry rejection around with us and it weighs us down. But we need a ritual way of releasing rejection. It may be ripping a picture and keeping that shredded picture as a reminder. It may mean writing out a confession and then flushing it down the toilet. It may mean a bonfire like Acts 19:19. One way or the other, we need ritual ways of burying the past. Otherwise the past buries us!
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