REJECTION
Have you ever been rejected? I can name a multitude of times in my life – from not being chosen for the team, to having a paper rejected by an editor and more. It isn’t a good feeling.
But, all of my rejections are minor compared to the rejections so many experience. People who are lost to despair; those who struggle to put food on the table or pay the rent; those who find themselves in a community (often a self-proclaimed Christian community) that does not want them. Each of us could name many more.
The Bible has many references about rejection. Some examples:
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. (Psalm 34:17)
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (Matthew 21:42)
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” (John 15:18)
These can help many see beyond their current situation and provide comfort in the midst of rejection. But I wonder... for those who are in deep despair or in a constant state of rejection, could these words be taken as mocking. When one feels the Creator has abandoned them, what do you turn to? I have recently had friends who have felt that rejection and I struggle to know how to support them. Maybe with just love and being there, quietly being there.
May Lent give us time to consider those who are experiencing rejection, to remember the pain of our own times of rejection, and to love and quietly be there.
Gary Kimmel
Have you ever been rejected? I can name a multitude of times in my life – from not being chosen for the team, to having a paper rejected by an editor and more. It isn’t a good feeling.
But, all of my rejections are minor compared to the rejections so many experience. People who are lost to despair; those who struggle to put food on the table or pay the rent; those who find themselves in a community (often a self-proclaimed Christian community) that does not want them. Each of us could name many more.
The Bible has many references about rejection. Some examples:
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. (Psalm 34:17)
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (Matthew 21:42)
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” (John 15:18)
These can help many see beyond their current situation and provide comfort in the midst of rejection. But I wonder... for those who are in deep despair or in a constant state of rejection, could these words be taken as mocking. When one feels the Creator has abandoned them, what do you turn to? I have recently had friends who have felt that rejection and I struggle to know how to support them. Maybe with just love and being there, quietly being there.
May Lent give us time to consider those who are experiencing rejection, to remember the pain of our own times of rejection, and to love and quietly be there.
Gary Kimmel
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