You've Been Accepted

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pplying to college has to be on of the most nerve-racking experiences for a high school senior to endure.  I remember the process well and I still have nightmares about it and still remember the feeling of an entire swarm of butterflies living in my stomach. 

Completing the paperwork was a nightmare.  I had to provide a transcript of all my academic work, I had to secure recommendations from people who knew me, I had to take a whole battery of standardized tests, and I had to write several essays on topics my perspective colleges deemed insightful into my personality and thought processes.  In addition to all this paperwork, I also visited the various campuses for interviews which only made me more nervous and anxious.

Of the three colleges I selected, one stood out among the rest.  It was my first choice and, if accepted, I determined to attend the following fall.  The deadline for mailing applications came but my packet arrived well ahead of schedule. All I had to do now was to wait, and that was a very hard thing.

My high school had a wonderful tradition.  Each time someone was accepted to a college, they announced it over the loud speaker so the entire school knew exactly which colleges had accepted which students.  My name was announced twice for the two other colleges I had chosen.  However, the last college did not mail out notices until April 1, so I had to wait until then to discover where to move all my stuff.

Finally, on April 2, 1981 the letter arrived.  I was called to the principal’s office to speak to my mother who had received the mail that morning.  She read the letter but the first word gave it away.  That word was congratulations.  I didn’t hear anything else after that.  All the hard work, all the late night studying, and all those cram sessions before exams had paid off. I had earned the right to attend the college of my choice and I was extremely overjoyed.

In the Christian life, we sometimes approach God as if we are applying to a college or for a position with a company.  We present recommendations demonstrating what good people we are.  We sign up for every church-related program so we have a good record of Christian service, we do our best to persevere in every one of life’s tests, and we sit and wait for God’s letter of acceptance to arrive.

No wonder so many are disappointed in their walks with God!  No wonder so many do not enjoy the Christian life. They spend every waking moment trying to earn God’s acceptance, doing everything they can to ensure God will recognize their hard work and receive them based on the merits of their actions.

Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us plainly that God’s acceptance is not dependent upon our performance, upon our reputation, or upon our character sketch.  Instead, Paul states very plainly that our acceptance is based on God’s grace and on His grace alone. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Simply put, there is no way we can earn our way to God.  There is no process of application, no recommendations are required, standardized tests do not figure into the equation, and mounds of paperwork and stacks of forms are not part of the process.  The only requirement is that we confess Jesus Christ as God’s son, that he came and died for our sins, that we accept his sacrifice as the only means of salvation, and that we turn from our life of sin and live according to God’s commands and laws.  Based on this confession of faith in Jesus Christ we are saved and we are accepted. 

Where are you in this process today?  Do you know the joy of God’s acceptance or are you filling out forms, performing tasks, securing recommendations, and waiting on an acceptance letter in the mail?  If you know Jesus Christ as your personal savior, you’ve been accepted!  That’s what grace is all about, receiving God’s gift, a gift we don’t deserve, in order to walk daily with him.