Ephesians 1:3-8 (NIV)
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will--to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding."

How many of us doubt God's love when we are tempted and fall into sin? Too many envision God as an exacting Father always ready to condemn and disinherit those who succumb to temptation. Fortunately, that is not an accurate description of God in the Bible. When we place our trust in Jesus to forgive us of our sins and make us children of God, acceptance by Him is secure.

While God does not approve when we disobey Him, He will not cast us aside or throw us away. Our acceptance by God is due solely to the completed work of Christ for our salvation. It is only by God's grace that we receive eternal life, not by our own works or efforts. As long as our trust remains in Christ, there is no reason to worry about whether God accepts us or not. Acceptance is a sure thing.

We need to always remember that God loves and cares about us continually. We need to keep in mind that He will never leave or forsake us, and that nothing can separate us from His love. When we stray from the path God wants us to go through disobedience, He seeks to win us back into a close relationship with Him. Because of God's love for us and His acceptance, let us live lives that are pleasing to Him.