You may wear the clothes you wear or drive the car you drive because you want to be accepted. The friends you choose, the food you eat, and what you say on the Internet are often motivated by a massive need for acceptance.

But, friend, you’re already accepted by the God who created you.

“For it is from God alone that you have your life through Christ Jesus. He showed us God’s plan of salvation; he was the one who made us acceptable to God; he made us pure and holy and gave himself to purchase our salvation” (1 Corinthians 1:30 TLB).

You didn’t earn God’s acceptance. God freely gave it to you. He alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. And Jesus is the one who made you acceptable to God.

How did Jesus make you acceptable to God? Well, first, here’s the age-old problem: God is perfect, and people are not. So how could a perfect God let imperfect people into a perfect place called heaven? Something had to happen.

God took care of the problem. He came to Earth as a man in the form of Jesus Christ and died for your sin. This is called grace, redemption, or being rescued by God. The theological term is justification, where God makes you clean and perfect in his eyes, no matter what you’ve done.

God sent his Son to die for you so that you would be acceptable to him. So, if God has accepted you, why do you need the approval of other people? One of the most liberating things in life is to finally believe that you don’t need other people’s approval to be accepted and to be happy.

You are chosen, you are loved, and you are accepted. Let this truth lead you into a joyful, purpose-filled life.