Rejection

Rejection has always been, and I guess, will always be a part of life. We go to school, and we get rejected by certain peers because they don’t want us as friends, and they won’t let us hang out with them. Then, as we get older, we notice the opposite sex; that is when true rejection begins. Then, as we seek employment, we may put in a lot of applications, and it seems we never get a call.

Rejection is hurtful. We wonder what is wrong with us. It is extremely difficult not to take rejection personally, because the truth is that sometimes it is personal. There will be people who just don’t like us. That is why, when it comes to evangelizing, we struggle, because we fear that painful rejection once again.

Today, I would like to share with you how Paul and Barnabas dealt with those who chose not to reject Paul and Barnabas but to reject the gospel. Acts 13:44-46, “The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming. 46 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.”

These two evangelists do what the Lord has commanded them to do. They preach the good news of Jesus. They begin with their own people, the Jews. When the religious leaders saw the crowds that were starting to gather, they got jealous and began to argue with Paul and Barnabas. I’m sure that Paul and Barnabas were hurt and sad about how their own people rejected Jesus. But I want us to notice how the evangelists reacted to this rejection. First, they did not take it personally. They understood that the Jews rejected Jesus, not them. Then look at how they responded with that understanding. They told the Jews that, apparently, you are not interested in having eternal life. Then they said, we will go to the Gentiles and give them this amazing news.

You see, many times we get so caught up in the rejection that we forget that even though some will reject the gospel, there will be others who are desperate to hear of the hope that can only come through the Lord. We must not allow the stubborn foolishness of some to get in the way of hope for others. Remember, they are not rejecting you and me, but they are rejecting Christ, and that makes us sad, as it should. We must understand that they are content with destruction. That does not mean we give up on them, but we must move forward to others. We can always go back and ask them once again to choose eternal life or eternal damnation. Everyone has the right to choose. So, keep on keeping on.