Fitting In

         For the most part, people want to feel as if they fit in with the society around them.  They like to feel "accepted."  I have met few people who completely disregard what's going on around them.  It is true that every now and then you see someone who looks like they want to stand out and disregard everyone else.  They dress differently and act differently to the point that they stand out.  Often, inwardly, they wish they were accepted by everyone but feel as if they are not and so go to the other extreme.  As I was leaving the navy, I had a number of job interviews and one of them was with a large tech group. They had a number of tests for everyone to take to make sure they would fit in with the company. I passed on the electronic parts of the test but failed to “fit in” with the psychological part. I had noticed that all of the men wore basically the same style of suit, a trench coat and a brief case that looked like it was from the same company. We would say that they looked almost like they were clones of the boss. I was sad at first that I did not fit in, but glad later. In that same thought, people generally want to feel accepted by God and that we will be with Him for all eternity.  This is far more important than what we look like or how we act in our job. There is good news.  Ephesians 1:5-6 says, "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."  

         People can be accepted and it was made possible by the work of Christ on the cross.  In these verses, God has reminded us that He has is the One who has made us accepted in the Beloved.  Now, who is the Beloved?  It is the perfect Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.  He is the Beloved.  God the Father was the One who did the work and now we are indeed "accepted."  God has done the impossible by making us accepted who could not have done it at all by ourselves.  He is the One who has made us presentable to stand before Him.  If you are feeling a little low today just realize that this is one of the spiritual blessings that has already taken place in your life.  Reflect on that for a moment and rejoice in what God has done.  There is nothing that you have to do.  It is a completed work.  Praise God today for His working in our lives and for providing spiritual blessings in the heavenlies.