Jesus turned acceptance right side up! In John 4, he encountered a woman at a well. Every social/religious convention required that Jesus ignore her! But Jesus was always challenging conventions that left people on the outside.
He overcame a racial barrier of Jews and Samaritans, He overcame a gender barrier of men and women, He overcame an educational barrier of theological understanding, He overcame a moral barrier of a person who was outside expected marital norms, and He overcame a spiritual barrier of how God was to be worshipped.
Usually, we have to overcome barriers in order to be accepted. Jesus turned this concept right side up in taking on the responsibility of removing any barriers to a Samaritan woman at a well experiencing ultimate acceptance.
Every one of us wants to be accepted but we are so often upside down in our pursuit of acceptance. We try so hard to jump through hoops in relationships, in professional circles and even in religious settings. As a pastor, I have attended retreats designed to build morale and felt like an outsider because of a sense of not measuring up with other attendees I perceived as doing better than me professionally. I know, a little crazy!
I had it upside down. My acceptance can't come from my performance. Acceptance comes from the fact that God through Christ insured my acceptance through the cross and resurrection. I am accepted by God through Christ therefore I am automatically included and accepted in the only way that matters. My role is to spread the good news that everyone else in this world is accepted as well. The quest for acceptance is over! The mission to make this known to everyone has begun!
