To Be Chosen

I have a mental list of most beautiful words – words that are powerful when used to describe our lives. “Chosen” is one of those words.

To Be Chosen is Our Desire

Remember wanting to be chosen for the third grade Dodge Ball team? (No, I wasn’t. Yes, I’m still bitter!)

(Photo Credit)

• We work hard to be chosen for career advancement.
• We hang umpteen strings of Christmas lights so our house is chosen as the most decorated (translation – gaudiest) in the neighborhood.
• We want to be chosen as a friend.
• We may long to chose a spouse. Or to be chosen as a spouse.

Yes, to be chosen is beautiful! To be chosen is to have identity, value and worth. But many of us have not been chosen in the ways we desire. Or we’ve been chosen only to later be betrayed and abandoned. And to be truthful, some of us have betrayed and abandoned those we once chose.

Good News for All

We are still chosen! Consider the choosing that is evidenced in this intimate conversation with God:

You God created me to the very depths of who I am;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb….

Yes child, no part of you was hidden from Me
as I created you in the place hidden from all eyes,
as I wove you into the creation I planned!

You God, looked on what was not yet formed;
and already You saw every plan You had for my life
before I lived even the first day!

Child, you cannot begin to imagine
how valued and treasured you are in My thoughts!
You cannot begin to count how much I think of, and about, you!
                                                              Psalm 139: 12-17 Paraphased

Isn’t it incredible that God chose us before we ever were? He thought about us, He designed us, He worked on us in secret to make us into the individuals He’s chosen us to be. What value that places on us!

I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  Isaiah 41: 9-10

Since God has chosen us, what should that do to our fears of betrayal and abandonment? What does His choosing us say about our worth in His sight?

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

God chose to love us, Jesus chose to die for us, and we can chose to believe in Him and have true life. Saying “yes” to being chosen by God gives us an eternal identity as His beloved son or daughter!

So remember, regardless of our relationship status, and regardless of whether or not we held a prominent position on our third grade Dodge Ball team, we are chosen.

Now here’s our challenge. And admittedly it’s not an easy one for some  – myself included…

Will we accept that we are chosen?

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