This principle is true of the members of Christ’s body. We need one another; we depend on one another. We must honor one another. When one member suffers, the others suffer with it. When one member is honored, the others are honored with it (see 1 Corinthians 12:26). That is the nature of the universal body of Jesus Christ, the church.

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By an act of faith, you must believe what God says in the Bible: that you are accepted in Christ. Scripture tells us that God’s purpose from eternity was to make us His children, and He accomplished this purpose, He made it possible, through Jesus’ death on the cross on our behalf (see Ephesians 1:4–6). When you come to God through Jesus, God accepts you. He will not turn you away.

To make this step toward acceptance, you must accept yourself. Many times, this is the hardest thing for us to do. We look back over a record of failures and false starts, maybe the ways in which we have failed others. You may label yourself “failure,” but God labels you “My son” or “My daughter.” We must accept ourselves because God has accepted us.

When you come to God through Jesus, you are a new creation:

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17–18)

That is the new creation. Do not think about yourself in terms of what you were before you came to Christ, for you have become a new creation.

Let us pray together: “God, I thank You that You love me, that You gave Jesus, Your Son, to die on my behalf. I thank You that He bore my sins, took my rejection, and paid my penalty. And because I come to You through Him, I am not rejected, I am not unwanted, I am not excluded. You really love me. I really am Your child. You really are my Father. I belong to Your family. Heaven is my home. Thank You, God. Amen.”

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Here is a parable I told to a group of Māori, who are great wood carvers, to illustrate the price Jesus paid to redeem us from our sins.

There was once a boy who carved a beautiful little wooden sailboat. One day he took it down to the ocean to sail, but the wind changed and carried his boat out to sea. Since he could not recover his boat, he went home without it.

The next high tide brought the boat back again, and it was found by a man walking along the seashore. He inspected the boat and saw that it was beautifully made, so he sold it to a shopkeeper who cleaned it up and put it in his window, priced to sell.

Some while later, the boy passed by the shop and saw his boat. He knew immediately that it was his, but he had no way to prove it. So, if he wanted it back, he knew he would have to buy it.

He set to work to earn the money by washing cars, mowing lawns, and other tasks. When he finally raised the necessary funds, he walked into the shop and bought back his boat. He took it in his hands, and, holding it to his breast, said, “Now you’re mine! I made you and I bought you.”

Picture yourself as that boat. You may feel inadequate or worthless; you may wonder if God really cares. But the Lo

Declaring God's Word

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