What Does The Cross Mean To Me: Acceptance

I am super honored to present to you Notes From My Corner of Creation's first Guest Contributor! Amanda Beguerie, the author of http://scatteredjournalpages.com/  , has written this amazing article on what the cross means to her! 

For me, the cross means acceptance.

The cross is the place where I was counted blameless and accepted in the sight of God. Not because of what I did, but because of what Jesus did for me. He took my place in death and shame and gave me the right to be a child of God.

John 1:12-13 says,  "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor the will of the flesh nor the will of man, but of God."

I am accepted. I do not have to be perfect. I do not have to earn my way to the love and acceptance of God. I do not have to do a certain number of good deeds to be cherished by God. Because I am not accepted by what I do. I am accepted because of what Christ did at the cross for me.

All I have to do is believe in His name! Accept the love he has for me! I am a child of God. Nobody can take that away.

The cross means acceptance. I think that we've all chased acceptance in our lives. We want to be loved, accepted, a part of the "in" group. Because, we think, maybe that will make us better people. Maybe we will have more privileges, our problems will all go away, or we will be satisfied...But our only perfect satisfaction by acceptance can come from God's acceptance of us. Through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.

Stop trying to be accepted in worldly terms. Accept the acceptance of God. He loves us no matter what.
He knows we are not perfect. He knows that we will fail. He knows all this, and still loves us and accepts us.

Never once will we walk alone. Never once will God turn his back on us. Never once will we lose the love of God. Rest in the embrace of the Almighty - by what was done at the cross - FOR YOU.

-Amanda Beguerie