An old friend of mine takes great delight in a particular document stamp he owns that says in all caps – APPORVED. Read it again. That’s right. Not “approved” but “apporved.” It was a typo delivered to him from a major office supply company. He takes great delight in it because part of his job in our previous military unit was to stamp posters and other documents that would hang on the wall of our building so that everyone would know they were legitimate notices approved from our commander. Of course most of the notices were barely relevant pieces of information that nearly no one read. Yet whenever I saw Frank’s stamp on it I found myself chuckling. We were glad to know things had been apporved for our reading.
Frank’s stamp of approval was a joke that no one took seriously, but there is a stamp of approval that many of us take seriously. It is the approval we receive from others. Rarely does it come to us as a stamp, but it comes to each of us differently from all sorts of people. The stamp of a friend’s approval is when they laugh at my jokes. The stamp of your spouse’s approval could be in a kiss or smile. The boss gives his stamp with words, added responsibility, or a raise. How seriously do I take someone’s stamp of approval on me? The answer is to gauge how you react when you don’t receive the stamp. Whose approval is so important to you that if you didn’t get it you believe you would die? If you’re missing the approval of this person or group you find yourself anxious, depressive, or outrageously angry. Who is it or what is it for you?
What does approval do for us? It justifies our actions. Approval shows us to be legitimate. For example, the stamp on your diploma justifies your actions as a student who has completed their course of study with passing grades. The stamp on your passport justifies your travel to and from a foreign land as a citizen of another nation. The stamp on any number of documents by a notary justifies your decision to promise certain actions with your own signature such as paying back a loan, enlisting in the military, or giving power of attorney to a spouse or adult child. We want our actions and our words to be justified in their meaning. We want them to approved by someone with the authority to declare them as justified.
Yet how often have I longed for justification for my whole life’s actions by seeking approval from a source that does not have such ultimate authority? I wanted my diplomas to justify my existence, not just my course of study. I wanted my marriage to justify my existence, not just my intimate knowledge and love for my wife. I want my job to justify my existence, not just my hours spent laboring at good work. The only authority that can justify my entire existence is the One with authority to cause me to exist in the first place—God Himself. When I look to anyone or anything else to justify my existence I will always be disappointed and left longing for a greater approval.
My anger and disappointment at earthly disapproval may very well be the signal that I’m longing for a heavenly approval that no one or no thing on earth can give. Only when I grasp by faith that Christ has put His stamp of approval on my adoption papers as a son of the loving Heavenly Father who has caused me to exist can I begin to put earthly approval in its proper place. I can be legitimately excited about the approval on my diploma. I can be properly disappointed when I miss the mark on a work project. Strength to stand up, dust myself off, and walk forward belongs to me in Christ. Having His ultimate approval frees me to find proper earthly approval and to give it as well. In Christ, I am not looking to be justified by my children’s behavior in public, so I am free to parent them appropriately. I am not looking to be justified by my spouse’s actions, attitudes, or beliefs so I am free to give her my love.
Do you have the freedom that comes from Christ’s stamp of approval on your adoption? By faith I hope you grab hold of it today. It costs you nothing, but it gains you everything. By His justification your existence is justified. In His ultimate approval, your loving actions are approved.
In Him,
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