Central to Christ’s work at Calvary is the fact that He accepted us. Romans 15:7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. One of the main results of Christ’s acceptance of me is my self-acceptance. Self-acceptance is one of the pillars of self-esteem and a game-changer in relationship building. Nathaniel Brandon wrote in, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, “Self-acceptance is my refusal to be in an adversarial relationship with myself.’ In other words, I am literally saying, “No, I’m not against myself.” True self-acceptance means you leave self-hatred alone. If I have not truly accepted myself, I will project rejection onto the people around me. I will always adjust my view of the environment to match my inner world. I end up with a persecutory super-ego where I believe the whole world is against me, yet it’s me who is against myself. The refusal to regard any part of ourselves, our bodies, our emotions, our thoughts, our actions, our dreams, as alien, or “not me.” There are many people who are divided against themselves. So, part of self-acceptance, is embracing all aspects of yourself. If you are part of a community but have to keep suppressing parts of yourself that are very real you will always be conflicted. You never truly feel like you belong if you have to pretend in order to belong. In Christ I can come just as I am. In an authentic community we must create that same climate of acceptance. Otherwise you also end up continuously wondering whether you would be accepted if you were truly known. The only reason why I can accept myself as a Christian is because Christ has accepted me. Heb 4:16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
