William the Conqueror was born a long time ago, in 1027, in a town
called Falaise, Normandy, which is now a part of France. He was the son
of Herleva, the daughter of a local trader, and Robert, the Duke of
Normandy. Everything seemed good. Except for the tiny fact that Herleva
was not actually Robert's wife. William was an illegitimate child, and
this fact didn't go unnoticed by the public.
From very early on,
William was teased by seemingly everyone in town, and the nickname, "the
Bastard" soon stuck. Though he was rejected and ridiculed, however, he
was not without hope. Despite his illegitimate lineage, his father
insisted William would be his heir. It's true that William was Robert's
only son, but that didn't faze William in the least.
To make
matters worse, attempts were made on William's life on two different
occasions. At one time, Robert, probably feeling guilty, decided to go
on a pilgrimage. While he was away, local Norman lords attacked
William's kinsmen. It was bad, so bad that William had to run away to
save his life. And he was only eight years old!
The second
attempt happened when he was twenty. "The rebelling barons" conspired
against him, and if a faithful servant hadn't warned him, he would have
been six feet under.
As it turned out, everyone except his own
father rejected him, but he never gave up. He kept holding on, for he
knew his dad was on his side.
To make a long story short, William
eventually became the King of England, a position far higher than what
his own father had held. There is hope for the rejected ones!
Most of us can relate to William. We too have been mocked and ridiculed
and rejected for various reasons. Although I was a legitimate child,
kids made fun of me at every opportunity because I wore coke-bottled
prescription glasses. In addition, the language of my hometown was not
my native language, and that made me a doubly-good target for ridicule.
Our brothers and sisters in faith in countries where Christianity is
taboo have it a thousand times worse, for mockery turns into
persecution, and persecution turns into martyrdom. Please do not forget
them in our prayers.
It's not an easy world we live in, but one
thing we can count on: Jesus is on our side! He boldly declares: "He is
mine!" Although we may feel unworthy and undeserving of such a love, He
stands by us. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only
Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal
life." (John 3:16 NIV)
Do we even realize what this means? We
were all doomed once. Whether we are illegitimate or legitimate doesn't
matter. We were selfish, greedy and self-centered, and we did, indeed
sin and break off our engagement with God. We were truly unworthy! We
earned the outcome deserved by any rebel!
But Jesus did the
unthinkable. He died for our sins, our rebellion against God. He died so
that we wouldn't have to die. He died so that we could have hope for a
brighter future, a future with the resurrected one. He died so that we
could spend eternity with Him as our big brother. Jesus has made the
unworthy worthy!
If a king or president would sacrifice himself
for someone considered unworthy, it would mean the unworthy one was
worthy after all, otherwise why would the king or the president have
sacrificed himself? So, my friend, you are of considerable value in
God's eyes.
No more rejection! No more insults and mockery! We
have become royalty! "In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting
that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the
author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who
makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So
Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers." (Heb 2:10-11 NIV)
We
can never be hopeless. We have the King of Kings at our side! We are now
"heirs having the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:7 NIV) Yahoo!
Let us enjoy the adventures we will experience with Him at our side.
Rejection can just get out of our way!
Rob Chaffart
Rejected but not Without Hope. Worthy are the Unworthy, Part 1
Today's Bible Verse:
Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of
the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers." (Heb
2:11)
Rejected but not Without Hope. Worthy are the Unworthy, Part 1
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