What happens when we are rejected?

 

     That questions answer depends on two things:  first how sensitive we are and second how much we are letting Christ be the author and finisher of our faith (and consequently ourselves).  We can have a hundred successes and one rejection sends us to the depth of loss or to the foot of the cross.  Hey, that rhymes!  The depth of the loss or the foot of the cross.  Two places I frequent almost daily.  Some days I'm already there when I wake up.  Many of us feel that we have given our best and it isn't good enough for those around us.  Yet, like our faith, we look for the visible acclimation that says we are okay, good enough, acceptable and that our gift, act or thought was what God wanted us to send forth.  Well intentioned people often help and hurt the most.  Probably because they have felt the need to "fix" someone or something only to be rebuffed for their attempt.  That's how I feel sometimes when I try and illuminate the inadequacies of today's Christian.  That includes me by the way.  Tied to our acceptance and or rejection is what people know about us, our past, and from which we speak.  In order to minimize rejection we do (again) one of two things:  first we don't help in any way shape or form and secondly we attach that which we say or do as "the Lord told me to share this with you." thus negating the responsibility for what takes place.  Neither choice is good.
     Here is an example.  I woke up this morning feeling down after being triggered last night before I went to bed.  I have PTSD and the triggering is an event where a button gets pushed and my brain short circuits causing me to have a drop in my mood.  So, I woke up and after devotions and journaling I went on FB.  I decided that I would send an encouraging word to my FB friends and did so.  I had a huge response where a lot of people liked what was said (it was non-religious) and said thanks.  Then there were those who didn't want the encouragement along with those who didn't appreciate my not asking before encouraging them.  Yep, rejection.  What did I do?  I tried to smooth over those who I had offended, stopped encouraging a lot of people and told my FB family that I wouldn't do that again.  Then I dropped into the "not good enough" hole and here I am.  How's that for honesty.  There is an old quote that says "No good deed goes unpunished."  Unfortunately in the world that's truer than you can imagine.  William James puts it this way, "We may have a God in heaven that forgives us our sins; but mankind does not."  I'm sure I haven't heard the last from those who rejected encouragement.  However, I will move on and encourage in another manner.  That's the difference.
     What difference, you might ask?  The difference is that we, upon rejection, shouldn't stop that which is good or that which God asks us to do.  Rather, reinvent the wheel, take a different approach, or just wait for that moment when someone does need encouragement.  At this point I've done what I could to stop the feeling of rejection in myself and accepted that I could have done the encouraging in a different manner.  So, the difference is first acknowledging that there are always more than one way to get to point B.  So many Christians that I know have taken rejection and shut down their lives from God, their families and even the outside influences.  They then become ineffective Christians and the churches of today are full of ineffective Christians...just like Satan wants.  Adversity can come from Satan.  Yes, that's what I said.  He wants us ineffective so that we won't oppose his worldly kingdom.  An ineffective Christian is a tool in his hands.  So, what is the Christian to do?  First we need to understand that rejection is no because we are not good enough.  Rejection is, when we are doing what Jesus asks, rejection of Jesus and the message.  YES, Christians can reject the message and the messenger of God.  YES, Christians can and are their own worst enemies.  YES, division and strife follow those who work to destroy the Christian church.
      What happens when we are rejected is all related to our relationship with Christ.  In either case, our thoughts, actions and words, no matter if they are from God or not, are subject to rejection from someone somewhere at some time or another.  Should you and I be doing what God has asked us to do in His word and through His Son, rejection isn't of us.  Pity the fool who rejects God.  Even the Christian fool.  Martin Luther, when asked what he would do if he knew Christ was going to return tomorrow, said, "I'd plant another tree."  Besides being a gardener, Martin knew that he needed to keep doing what God told him to do regardless of what was going to happen tomorrow.  He would plant another tree...a seed in the souls of men to aid them in finding Jesus and salvation.  What would you do if you knew Jesus was returning at 3:00 PM today or tomorrow or even the next day?  Would you plant a tree.  Would you not concern yourself with the rejection of man over the pleasing of the Lord and his acceptance?