A friend of mine in international business recently explained that the very best outcome was when a company board rejected his proposals and gave their green light to another conglomerate. That business went bad. Rejection was the best result any one could have received.
Another associate was very interested in a young lady and having built up the courage to invite her on a date, was coldly rejected. Later he discovered this young woman had a history of taking people for a ride and ultimately ended up in prison. Rejection saved him from a fate worse than ….
Having ministered to elite athletes over 41 years in Christian ministry on numerous occasions athletes found themselves discarded and rejected, which spurred them on to greater heights and proved to have been the very best of experiences.
How many aspiring politicians have we read of who were rejected in the first instance and came back with remarkable endurance. We might recall John Howard who ultimately served as the second longest Australian Prime Minister. On the other hand we saw how Labor shot themselves in the foot by rejecting Kevin Rudd during his first term in office and then again Tony Abbott on the other side of politics.
In Christian ministry too, many a congregation has voted not to go ahead with a pastoral appointment and it proved to have been the best outcome as that Minister would have been a round beg in a square hole. The pastoral appointment he later accepted was ideal for both his ministry and his family's needs.
How many times have any of us been shopping and sought out varying prices and discovered that the same item had a surprisingly differentiation in price and what a good thing it was to have rejected the first price option that came our way.
Failure can be the best thing that happens to anyone and this was the title of a recent article in The New Daily which unpicked the issues that spur us on to grater things.
Reverse Rejection in life
Rejection is usually seen as a very negative emotion and so it can be, but on the other hand it can be
- the very thing we needed to get us moving
- saved us from a terrible outcome
- given us options that we hadn't considered
- gave us an inner strength we didn't realise we had
- provided us with a psychological rest which was really needed
- made us re-evaluate our directions in life
- forced us to consider some unpleasantness
The light at the end of the rejection tunnel is a real one. It is not simply an encouraging word or a comforting pat on the shoulder. Yet we also recognise that when we're going through rejection it can be emotionally devastating. A recent News.com article spells this out.
Reverse rejection from the Scriptures
When we consider the Scriptures we can determine how initial rejection had very different outcomes.
The people in Noah's time rejected the Ark.
The brother's of Joseph
Sodom and Gomorrah
The Egyptians and Moses
Our list could go on and on
The New Testament too
Herod with John the Baptist
Jewish leaders with the Apostles
Barnabas and Paul
Paul in Athens
Our list could go on and on citing the various missionary journeys.
The greatest rejection of all was that at the Cross of Calvary. Yet it was that outcome that brought Salvation to the world. The Christian message is clear, that the sinless one Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world and that means each person now has an eternal offer on the table.
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children. Dr Tronson writes a daily article for Christian Today Australia (since 2008) and in November 2016 established Christian Today New Zealand.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html
Dr Mark Tronson - a 4 min video
Chairman – Well-Being Australia
Baptist Minister 45 years
- 1984 - Australian cricket team chaplain 17 years (Ret)
- 2001 - Life After Cricket (18 years Ret)
- 2009 - Olympic Ministry Medal – presented by Carl Lewis
- 2019 - The Gutenberg - (ARPA Christian Media premier award)
Gutenberg video - 2min 14sec
Married to Delma for 45 years with 4 children and 6 grand children
