He sat there in his car at the end of the driveway staring aimlessly into the distance. If you were to ask him his name or where he was, he’d of failed your test. He felt like nothing more than a burden, intruder, and a worthless abandoned man. “”What just happened?” he said. This was not the intended outcome of the evening. Isn’t the man supposed to ride off into the sunset with the most beautiful woman in the world?

Have any of you felt this way? We are all prone to disappointment and feelings of rejection, especially in the aftermath of a broken relationship. However, as Disciples of Christ, we have a resource that can give us meaning and understanding, not only about a relationship, but about ourselves. That resource is, of course, the Word of God, and Jesus Christ is the Word. Christ will never reject, leave, forsake, or abandon any of us [1].

v 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
v10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. [2 Corinthians 12:9-10 KJV]

Rejection does not mean that we are unlovable. Therefore, will we react or will we respond to reproaches/rejection. How we handle the rejection is our choice. We can either grow in Christ or become among the walking wounded. There will naturally be a period of mourning to recover from the hurt and disappointment of rejection. It also gives us a time to reflect on how we are going to respond. However, it is important not to live in this emotional state. Taking this speedy approach is not to minimize the other person or the relationship, but it is for the spiritual and physical health, sanity, and welfare of the injured (rejected) party.

My dad used to say to me when I felt sorry for myself as a youngster, “No matter how bad-off you are, there is always someone a little worse off than you are.” My recent rejection hurt like Hades but who knows more about rejection than anyone in the history of mankind? The answer is, of course Jesus Christ [2]. From Christ’s entrance to Jerusalem and through Gethsemane to Golgotha, the Passion of Christ [3] wreaks of suffering and rejection – to the max. Almost everybody, even Peter, who was one of His Apostles, rejected Christ when he denied Him, not once, but three times. UGH. That hurts when it is one of your own that reject you.

After rejection we all go through a time of mourning but with the Lord’s help each of us can survive the ordeal. Once we find out that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God [4], we can choose to bless them, to wish them well, and to have a happy life. We learn to understand that both party’s just didn’t see eye to eye. We learn that we are OK and that they are OK.

Therefore we can take pleasure in reproaches and in the distresses for Christ’s sake: for when we are weak, then we are strong.
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[1] Hebrews 13:5
[2] Matthew 27:46; John 7:5; Matthew 13:57, 58; John 13:21 just to name a few. John 1:4; Hebrews 4:15
[3] The English word ‘Passion’ has its root in the Latin ‘Passio’ which simply means Suffering.
[4] Romans 8:38, 39