Conditional Acceptance

We live in a world where acceptance is almost always contingent upon performance.

Mike Dunleavy, the coach of the LA Clippers basketball team, was recently fired mid-season when his team continued to spiral downward season after season.

Students are accepted to colleges and universities not because they try hard, have nice smiles or really like how a campus looks; rather, they are accepted because they scored in a certain range on the SAT and/or maintained a high GPA in high school.

Salespeople who do not sell enough product will be looking for another job, regardless of how nice they dress, how dependable they are showing up for work or how many years they worked for the company.

A driver might love working on cars, playing racing games on a PSP and going to the speedway; but if he doesn't score high enough on the written and/or driving portion of the DMV exam, a driver's license will not be granted.

In just about every area of life, we are seemingly constantly being evaluated, measured, judged, tested and scored as we attempt to gain entry or acceptance in a particular area. I am not suggesting that this is unfair; I am simply pointing out how prevalent this constant "proving oneself" to society has become.

It should come as no surprise, then, when an individual attempts to "work" or earn his or her way to heaven, trying to gain acceptance by God through sheer human effort. When practically every other area of life demands a certain level of success/performance prior to being accepted, the idea of "unconditional acceptance"--or grace--is not a concept easily understood or received.

Our pride wants to earn the approval of our Creator just as it wants to earn the approval of our professor in college, our supervisor at work or--yes--even our spouse, our children or our parents.

At this time of the year, however, the Cross of Christ--and His resurrection--cry out to us with a message of love unconditional. Here, we are accepted not for that which we have done; rather, we are wholly accepted and loved--truly unconditionally--because God SO loved the world--and each person He created. By receiving His love and forgiveness, we enter into a relationship free of requirements, expectations and guilt.

How thankful I am that while in just about every other area of life I must prove myself worthy through my performance, but in the most important relationship of all, I am loved eternally not for what I have done or will do, but simply because Jesus chose, from the foundation of time, to open wide His arms and His heart to his sheep, his children. Love unconditional. Period.