DEALING WITH REJECTION

Acts 13:51-52So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.



Not long ago I had one of those heart-wrenching moments as a parent when my daughter Amanda came home from school clearly upset about something that had happened. Amanda is somewhat like me in that she gets very quiet when something is wrong. My wife and I know this behavior so I asked her what was wrong. She said with her lower lip quivering, "None of the other kids wanted to play with me today." I thought to myself, "Wow, now that's rejection, nothing like a school playground to teach life lessons." I asked her how she felt about that. "I didn't like it. Everyone was playing with someone else, so I played on the monkey bars by myself -- and that was just fine," she replied stubbornly. The next day, as I asked her how her day went, she was all smiles again. She once again played on the monkey bars, but this time all the kids played with her. If only life were that easy. Sometimes it is -- as long as we have the right perspective.

In our passage today, Paul and Barnabas were rejected as well. In fact, their rejection went all the way to persecution -- which ultimately forced them to leave the region. This despite doing the Lord's will. I do a lot of mentoring and I always find it interesting how many Christians believe that if they do God's will, everything will work out wonderfully. The problem is our idea of wonderful and God's may not be the same.

I believe the church functions as a body as Paul describes in Romans 12:4-5, "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body..." To use this as a farming analogy: some of us plant seeds; others pull weeds, dig wells, water, prune, harvest, etc. Paul and Barnabas were "seed planters." After they planted the seed -- introduced the Word of God to Pisidian Antioch -- their job was done. They weren't responsible for the result, only God is and God would indeed find someone else to water, weed and nurture. Often times we stick around too long as if we need to finish something that is not our job to complete. This is a really hard concept to understand. What is our function? When is it finished? When is it time to move on despite the apparent lack of completeness? Knowing who you are in Christ and your role within the body is the key to this understanding.


Paul and Barnabas were seed planters and they knew this was their role within the body. So when rejected, they just shook the dust from their sandals and moved on -- then they "were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit." Notice the sequence: it was only after they let go that they were able to experience joy and fullness. Joy because they were finished and fullness because they had completed their task. I know it's really hard to let go when something isn't finished in your own mind, but have you considered that it might not be your job to see it through to completion? Do you experience frustration when something you are involved in is not getting finished? What would it look like for you to step back, realize your part is done, and let another finish the task?

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