"Accepted in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:6
We are ever looking for something in SELF to
make ourselves acceptable to God—and are
often sadly cast down and discouraged when
we cannot find . . .
that holiness,
that obedience,
that calm submission to the will of God,
that serenity of soul,
that spirituality and heavenly mindedness,
which we believe to be acceptable in His sight.
Our crooked tempers,
our fretful peevish minds,
our rebellious thoughts,
our coldness,
our barrenness,
our alienation from good,
our headlong proneness to evil,
with the daily feeling that we get no better,
but rather worse—make us think that God
views us just as we view ourselves. We
seem to lose sight of our acceptance in Christ,
and get into the miserable dregs of SELF. We
are so vile, and only get worse as we get
older.
Now the more we get into these dregs of SELF,
and the more we keep looking at the dreadful
scenes of wreck and ruin which our heart presents
to daily view—the farther do we get from the grace
of the gospel—and the more do we lose sight of
the only ground of our acceptance with God.
It is "in the Beloved" alone, that we
are accepted—and not for any . . .
good words,
good works,
good thoughts,
good hearts, or
good intentions
of our own.
And a saving knowledge of our acceptance "in
the Beloved," independent of everything in us
either good or bad, is a firm foundation for our
faith and hope—and will keep us from sinking
altogether into despair.
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