Redirection, Not Rejection
THE experience of being let go from a job, or having an application turned down, or being on the receiving end of a Dear John letter, can be difficult to deal with. Thoughts of worthlessness, fear, insecurity, anger, resentment self-pity, may nag at us or even come flooding in. Yet at such times we can find peace and direction in the understanding that God has never rejected us. He is tenderly providing for and approving of us as His spiritual, perfect offspring. This is our true identity. Man in God's likeness (as the first chapter of the Bible describes our true being) must be perfectly qualified to express the divine nature, since this is the purpose for which God has created him. He must be joyful, satisfied, intelligent, purposeful, loved, and loving. We may feel that few or none of these words describe us, and yet in the truest sense they do. It's just that we need a clearer sense of who we really are and of our unity with God.
When we're battling rejection, we tend to feel separated from God, to feel as though we were a descendant of Adam, as described in the second chapter of Genesis. Yet man as God's likeness was not made out of dust, or matter. The account in Genesis, chapter 2, is a portrayal of man as alienated from God. It points clearly to what man is not rather than to what he is as the ``very good'' creation of God referred to in Genesis, chapter 1. According to the Scriptures, ``God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.''1 There can be no darkness of rejection in God or in man.
What is really needed at times of apparent rejection is a redirection of thought away from the false sense of ourselves as the offspring of Adam to the true sense of ourselves as God's spiritual and perfect image. And to the degree that such trying times force us to turn more unreservedly to God for direction, approval, companionship, and purpose, they become blessings. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, says it this way: ``The very circumstance, which your suffering sense deems wrathful and afflictive, Love can make an angel entertained unawares.''2
Any time we're faced with rejection we can quickly see this not as a rejection of our real, spiritual selfhood but of the whole mistaken belief that we are limited, egotistical, fragile mortals. We can interpret the challenge correctly as an opportunity to see the inherent nature of mortality to destroy, or reject, itself, andthen gratefully redirect our focus to God and spiritual reality.
In this redirection of thought we will find peace and assurance. We will find that we are included in the allness and goodness of God. Rejection, belittlement, fear, insecurity, are impossible within God's infinite, perfect care of us. As God's spiritual offspring, man reflects all of the divine qualities of perfection. He is in constant possession of all good. Realizing this as the truth of our being, we'll see that we are never really without such necessary things as acceptance and love. In a profound sense, we can never actually acquire these things from people, since God is their genuine source.
Keeping our thoughts steadfastly on God, proclaiming the word of truth and refuting the lies about God and man, we will more consistently reflect Godlikeness and find the appropriate opportunities for progress. With the assurance of our complete acceptance by God, with the understanding that as His likeness we include all that we need, we can move ahead fearlessly.
1I John 1:5. 2Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 574.