Rejection can be one of the most painful experiences any of us can have. Ralph Keyes in his book "Is There Life after High School?" writes that Mia Farrow has never forgotten the time every girl was asked to dance but her. Nor did Charles Schulz of "Peanuts" cartoon fame ever forgotten that the yearbook staff rejected every cartoon he turned in to them. Movie actress Ali McGraw confesses she doesn't forget the fact that she never had one date in all of high school. Henry Kissinger is best remembered by his classmates as the kid nobody wanted to eat lunch with at school.

Rejection can be one of the most traumatic things that can happen to any of us. I know...I received at least a half-dozen rejection slips from publishers until I finally conned one into publishing a book for me some years back. And that may be one reason why I haven't ventured into the publishing business since!! Rejection is painful. That is why we find it so out of character for Jesus to reject anyone. That's what makes our Scripture lesson of the morning so difficult to understand.