I don’t know about you, but I have a fear of rejection.
This fear feeds a lot of my insecurities. I find myself holding back because I’m afraid my peers will scoff. That they’ll judge me as weird or stupid or annoying.
But it also keeps me from sharing the gospel.
I mentioned this briefly in my post Spreading the Gospel: The Most Important Thing We Can Do. But something struck me recently.
Jesus knew rejection.
Isaiah 53:3 says, He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
His own people rejected Him (John 1:10-11). In fact, He’s still rejected every day. But He has never let it stopped Him from loving people. From sharing the truth.
So why do I?
The glib answer would be because I’m human and I’m flawed. But a more thorough assessment would reveal that it’s because I put too much stock into what others think of me when the only opinion that matters is the opinion of Jesus.
And Jesus said to go tell (Mark 16:15). To go into the highways and the hedges (Luke 14:23).
Does this immediately ease my fear? Honestly, no. But I think it helps put things in perspective. Reminds me that if someone rejects me because of my faith that it’s more a reflection on them then it is me. Helps me realize that I need to lean on Him for help and guidance. Isn’t that true in every aspect of life, though? I need to trust Jesus, to follow His leading and leave the future to Him.
But it also brings me comfort knowing that Jesus understands what I’m going through. That this isn’t a foreign concept to Him. What makes Jesus so amazing is that He isn’t a distant being. He understands what we’re going through (Hebrews 4:15).
The next time we find ourselves worrying about rejection, let’s remind ourselves that Jesus knows what that’s like. When we face that fear, we can always go to Him for comfort and strength.
