The Pain of Rejection
Wilderness DevotionalMay 19, 202500:09:1810.65 MB

The Pain of Rejection

🎙️ Aaron Salvato🎙️ Aaron SalvatoHost

In this episode of The Wilderness Devotional, we walk straight into the ache of being unseen.

We explore what it means that Jesus—the radiant, eternal, glorious Son of God—came into the world… and the world did not recognize Him. Even His own people, the ones He formed in their mother’s wombs, the ones He had come to rescue, turned their backs.

“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”— John 1:11

I reflect on the heartbreak Jesus endured… and how that connects with our own stories of rejection.I tell a story from my days as a youth pastor—a teenage girl so filled with boldness for the gospel that she practically dove into a stranger’s car window just to tell them about Jesus. I share how that moment challenged me. Inspired me. Reminded me what we’re doing here.

This episode is for anyone who has ever felt unseen. Overlooked. Rejected.And it’s for anyone who needs to be reminded that Jesus was too… and yet He kept loving.



Get full access to GoodLion Theology - Aaron Salvato at aaronsalvato.substack.com/subscribe


00:00:02 --> 00:00:02 John 1,

00:00:02 --> 00:00:09 9-13 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming

00:00:09 --> 00:00:10 into the world.

00:00:11 --> 00:00:12 He was in the world,

00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 and though the world was made through him,

00:00:15 --> 00:00:16 the world did not recognize him.

00:00:17 --> 00:00:21 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

00:00:26 --> 00:00:26 Jesus,

00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 the true light which gives light to everyone,

00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 was coming into the world.

00:00:31 --> 00:00:34 And yet the world did not know him.

00:00:35 --> 00:00:38 His own people did not receive him.

00:00:39 --> 00:00:42 Can you imagine if you showed up one day at your family home

00:00:43 --> 00:00:43 and you said,

00:00:43 --> 00:00:43 Mom,

00:00:43 --> 00:00:44 Dad,

00:00:44 --> 00:00:44 I'm here.

00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 And they said, We don't know you.

00:00:48 --> 00:00:48 Who are you?

00:00:49 --> 00:00:49 Get out of here.

00:00:49 --> 00:00:50 You're disgusting.

00:00:50 --> 00:00:51 Get out of our house.

00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 Can you imagine looking at your mom and dad and saying,

00:00:55 --> 00:00:56 What are you talking about?

00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 Stop joking around.

00:00:59 --> 00:01:00 And they just freak out and say, Get out of the house.

00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 And then they end up calling the police and casting you out and

00:01:04 --> 00:01:05 chasing you out.

00:01:06 --> 00:01:07 Imagine how you would feel.

00:01:09 --> 00:01:13 Imagine how Jesus felt to see the people that he created,

00:01:13 --> 00:01:16 the people that he knew before they were even born,

00:01:16 --> 00:01:17 the people that he said,

00:01:17 --> 00:01:18 I want to love them.

00:01:18 --> 00:01:19 I want to bless them.

00:01:20 --> 00:01:22 I want them to be a part of my family.

00:01:23 --> 00:01:24 And then they rejected him.

00:01:25 --> 00:01:26 They spit on him.

00:01:27 --> 00:01:28 They hated him.

00:01:28 --> 00:01:29 They crucified him.

00:01:30 --> 00:01:33 He was the light in the darkness and they were just trying to

00:01:33 --> 00:01:34 put that light out.

00:01:36 --> 00:01:40 He came to love his people and his family, and yet he was rejected.

00:01:41 --> 00:01:42 It's heartbreaking.

00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 When you consider what Jesus went through for us,

00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 it's totally heartbreaking.

00:01:50 --> 00:01:51 Verse 12 says,

00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 But as many as received him,

00:01:54 --> 00:01:58 to them he gave the right to become children of God,

00:01:59 --> 00:02:00 to those who believe in his name,

00:02:01 --> 00:02:02 who were born not of blood,

00:02:03 --> 00:02:04 nor of the will of the flesh,

00:02:04 --> 00:02:05 nor of the will of man,

00:02:06 --> 00:02:07 but of God.

00:02:09 --> 00:02:11 but God, right there.

00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 Despite the fact that humanity hated Jesus,

00:02:15 --> 00:02:16 they rejected him,

00:02:17 --> 00:02:17 spit on him,

00:02:17 --> 00:02:18 crucified him.

00:02:19 --> 00:02:24 Jesus had a heart for his family that could not be stopped.

00:02:25 --> 00:02:29 And he looks at us and he wants us to have a heart for that family,

00:02:29 --> 00:02:30 for disciples,

00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 for followers of Jesus to have a heart for God's family.

00:02:34 --> 00:02:38 Even if that means that we face our own rejection,

00:02:39 --> 00:02:41 If we follow Jesus, we're a disciple.

00:02:42 --> 00:02:46 And I want to challenge you to have a heart for God's family,

00:02:47 --> 00:02:48 not just our immediate family,

00:02:48 --> 00:02:49 not just our friends,

00:02:50 --> 00:02:53 but to understand that there are people scattered all around

00:02:53 --> 00:02:54 the world who truly

00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 belong in God's family.

00:02:57 --> 00:02:59 They just don't know him yet.

00:03:00 --> 00:03:04 They're still in the darkness, but we have the light.

00:03:06 --> 00:03:07 When I was a youth pastor,

00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 I remember I took a bunch of my students down to a beach town

00:03:11 --> 00:03:12 in California called Encinitas.

00:03:12 --> 00:03:16 And I was with a bunch of the kids and we saw some surfers.

00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 And I was like, hey, we should go talk to those surfers.

00:03:19 --> 00:03:21 And my students said, yeah, that sounds awesome.

00:03:21 --> 00:03:22 Let's go.

00:03:22 --> 00:03:25 So we started walking towards them and they got into their car

00:03:25 --> 00:03:26 and started driving away.

00:03:27 --> 00:03:28 And at that point, I wanted to give up.

00:03:28 --> 00:03:29 I mean, they're driving away.

00:03:30 --> 00:03:31 It'd be weird to pursue them.

00:03:32 --> 00:03:36 But this one girl in my group runs over to their car and almost

00:03:36 --> 00:03:37 dives into the window.

00:03:38 --> 00:03:39 She says, hey, stop.

00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 You didn't hear about Jesus.

00:03:41 --> 00:03:42 I got to tell you about Jesus.

00:03:44 --> 00:03:46 And as a pastor, I was just like, yes, this is awesome.

00:03:47 --> 00:03:48 She's braver than I am.

00:03:48 --> 00:03:49 That's totally what I want.

00:03:49 --> 00:03:50 That's amazing.

00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 She cared so much that they heard the gospel and that they

00:03:54 --> 00:03:55 heard it and understood it.

00:03:57 --> 00:03:57 And yeah,

00:03:58 --> 00:04:01 they listen and they totally thought we were weird and they

00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 drove off and I'm sure

00:04:03 --> 00:04:03 they laughed at us.

00:04:05 --> 00:04:07 But I believe that they're gonna remember,

00:04:07 --> 00:04:09 especially when they're going through a tough time,

00:04:09 --> 00:04:10 they're gonna remember,

00:04:10 --> 00:04:10 wow,

00:04:10 --> 00:04:14 that girl cared enough about us that she wanted us to be a part

00:04:14 --> 00:04:15 of God's family so

00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 bad that she almost dove into our car window.

00:04:20 --> 00:04:20 Rescue mission.

00:04:22 --> 00:04:22 That's what it's about.

00:04:24 --> 00:04:24 And yeah,

00:04:24 --> 00:04:24 it's weird,

00:04:25 --> 00:04:25 it's awkward,

00:04:26 --> 00:04:30 but God calls us to lay down our inhibitions and live for Christ.

00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 Maybe you're like me and you grew up in the church.

00:04:34 --> 00:04:37 I just want to encourage you, don't let this stuff become dead to you.

00:04:38 --> 00:04:39 You have to remember that without Jesus,

00:04:40 --> 00:04:44 you and I would be wretched sinners with no hope,

00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 destined for eternity in hell,

00:04:47 --> 00:04:48 separated from God.

00:04:49 --> 00:04:53 It's so easy for us to just make light of it because we're so

00:04:53 --> 00:04:54 used to it.

00:04:55 --> 00:04:56 We can't though.

00:04:56 --> 00:04:59 We can't forget the power of the gospel.

00:05:00 --> 00:05:01 We can't forget.

00:05:02 --> 00:05:05 We can't forget the one who was rejected for us.

00:05:07 --> 00:05:11 Jesus went through so much pain, so much rejection.

00:05:12 --> 00:05:16 I can't begin to imagine the horror of hanging on a cross,

00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 not because you committed a crime and you know in your heart

00:05:20 --> 00:05:21 you deserve it,

00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 but because you know that you're innocent,

00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 but you're doing it to save people,

00:05:27 --> 00:05:28 and they don't thank you.

00:05:29 --> 00:05:30 They curse you.

00:05:30 --> 00:05:31 They spit on you.

00:05:32 --> 00:05:33 They put you on a cross.

00:05:34 --> 00:05:39 I can't imagine the depth of that pain, of that rejection.

00:05:40 --> 00:05:43 I've felt rejected in my life,

00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 but I've never experienced that kind of rejection.

00:05:47 --> 00:05:49 And I'm so thankful I don't have to.

00:05:51 --> 00:05:55 I'm so thankful that I love and follow a God who could have

00:05:56 --> 00:05:57 easily rejected us

00:05:57 --> 00:05:58 because of our sin.

00:05:59 --> 00:06:02 He could have looked at us and said, that's wicked.

00:06:02 --> 00:06:03 That's evil.

00:06:04 --> 00:06:05 I can't have that around me.

00:06:06 --> 00:06:07 Forget you, humanity.

00:06:08 --> 00:06:08 I'm moving on.

00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 I'm leaving you to your own destruction,

00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 to the hell you've made for yourself.

00:06:14 --> 00:06:15 But instead,

00:06:15 --> 00:06:19 we have a God who loved us so much that he created a way for us

00:06:19 --> 00:06:20 to be accepted.

00:06:21 --> 00:06:22 No matter what we've done,

00:06:22 --> 00:06:23 no matter our past,

00:06:23 --> 00:06:25 no matter our flaws and mistakes,

00:06:25 --> 00:06:27 he loved us that much.

00:06:28 --> 00:06:32 He suffered the pain of the ultimate rejection so that we would

00:06:32 --> 00:06:33 never have to

00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 suffer the same fate.

00:06:36 --> 00:06:37 That's beautiful.

00:06:37 --> 00:06:38 That's amazing.

00:06:39 --> 00:06:40 And that's the gospel.

00:06:42 --> 00:06:47 Take a moment to pray and to thank God for the rejection that

00:06:47 --> 00:06:47 he went through.

00:06:48 --> 00:06:51 If you're feeling rejected in your own life,

00:06:52 --> 00:06:56 remember that Jesus knows how you feel more than you will ever

00:06:56 --> 00:06:57 be able to know.

00:06:59 --> 00:07:00 Thank him in this moment.

00:07:01 --> 00:07:02 Connect with him.

00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 Maybe you feel rejected by God.

00:07:05 --> 00:07:09 Maybe you feel like you're not worthy to be in God's presence.

00:07:09 --> 00:07:13 Know that those feelings are lies from Satan himself.

00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 God's arms are wide open.

00:07:16 --> 00:07:17 He is ready to accept you.

00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 In all of your flaws and all of your failures,

00:07:22 --> 00:07:25 he is ready to accept you into his arms,

00:07:26 --> 00:07:27 not to accept your sin.

00:07:28 --> 00:07:31 He violently wants to push that away because it is killing you.

00:07:32 --> 00:07:36 But he wants to accept you into his family.

00:07:37 --> 00:07:43 Take a moment to pray and connect with this amazing,

00:07:43 --> 00:07:44 wonderful Savior that we have.

00:07:59 --> 00:07:59 you

00:08:50 --> 00:08:51 Glory be to the Father,

00:08:51 --> 00:08:52 to the Son,

00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 and to the Spirit,

00:08:54 --> 00:08:56 who was and is and ever will be,

00:08:57 --> 00:08:58 world without end.