“Greet Apelles, approved in Christ.” ~ Romans 16:10, NKJV
The closing chapter of Paul's epistle to the Romans is filled with names as he greets, with much love, individuals known to him. The phrase Paul chooses as Apelles' identifier is "approved in Christ." Technically speaking, all believers are "approved in Christ." Jesus is the one who makes us good enough, who marks us as sufficient - not because we are sufficient, but because He is. What we could not achieve Jesus achieved for us, and imputed it to our hopeless accounts. Did his approval in Christ mean so much to Apelles, perhaps because of his past or ethnic background, that this was how people knew him - as the man whom Christ had made sufficient? Or was it Paul's subtle encouragement to Apelles by reminding him that in Christ, he did, indeed, have the approval of God? I don't know. But I treasure Paul's words. Like Apelles, I am approved in Christ. I am sufficient. I am good enough. I meet the mark. I've been adopted as God's daughter, perfect and complete, without flaw or blemish. There is no condemnation, no despair, no defeat, no tearing down for the child of God. He is approved in Christ.
by Rebecca....
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