Rejection

““Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”” (Matthew 27:46b, NLT). 

It would have suited my purposes if the scholars responsible for the New Living Translation had opted for “rejected” rather than “abandoned”, but to me this is the ultimate Biblical reference to rejection. Thankfully, for our sakes, the rejection was very brief and the reconciliation that followed – the acceptance of the sacrifice – has literally sealed our eternal futures. 

 

This is but one example from the Bible. If you will forgive me playing slightly fast and loose it started with the rejection of Adam and Eve when “the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden” (Gen 3:23). At least I imagine that for Adam and Eve it felt pretty much like rejection, rather than like a reasonable theological response to a previous misdemeanour. I also have sympathy for Moses, whose own people rejected his first attempt to help them. The scars, I believe were still visible 40 years later when being commissioned at the burning bush – “but what if…?” was Moses’ repeated response. After that you can almost dip into the Bible at will and find rejection – the Israelites repeated turning away from God (you wouldn’t catch us doing that, surely).  How about Samson? “Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time.” (Judges 16:28). Fancy trying on Hosea’s shoes? Commanded by God to marry a prostitute who would later return to her old ways. However, I will finish my list with Elijah who is a personal favourite as I believe he battled with melancholy. After an epic victory over (and slaughter of) the prophets of Baal, a 125 mile run, and then a 200 mile walk he felt utterly alone: “I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.” (1 Kings 19:14b).

 

Now the eagle-eyed will have spotted that the above list includes only one unarguable, objective case of a human suffering rejection (Hosea rejected by his wife’s adultery). But isn’t that one of the major points – that rejection is an entirely subjective matter. It is about how the ‘rejectee’ feels. Objectively Elijah was wrong – he was not the only one left; God had 7,000 in reserve. And yet, he felt rejected by the entire nation, and utterly alone. And rejection doesn’t have to be big to cut deep. For someone whose self-esteem has already been bruised, a simple put down can be rejection enough.

 

There are no simple cures for rejection, no sticking plasters to be applied. But we do have Yahweh Rapha (the Lord who heals – Exodus 15:26) on our side. And He is the master of restoration and second chances. And for those of us not currently suffering the pain of rejection? Our job is to “to love our neighbour as [much as we love] ourselves” (Matthew 22:39b, paraphrased).