Do you know that you were Chosen by the Lord Himself?
16 You did not choose me, but I CHOSE YOU AND APPOINTED YOU so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last – and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: love each other. John 15
A well known BBC Radio host was interviewing the late Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher and he asked her a question about Christianity. Something along the lines of ‘What she thought was the essence of the Christian Faith?’ She gave a single word answer(unusual for any politician), Choice! Her answer completely stymied him. He thought she’d say something like Love and he would attack her for not caring for people. We all make Choices in our lives and ultimately they decide our destiny, but thank God, He also Chose and rescued many of us from dangerous paths.
27 But God CHOSE the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God CHOSE the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God CHOSE the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, …31 Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.’ 1 Corinthians 1
When we look at sports teams today, they pay huge sums of money for the best players. They’ll go to extreme lengths and offer many perks to get the people with the talent on their team. Today they’re called ‘Elite Athletes’. God thankfully is not looking for the elite people to join Him, instead He’s chosen the ordinary people like us. That was the start of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, God chose the weak, not the elite, because He would get the glory.
Moses was raised in the palace as the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter, but had to spend forty years in the desert to unlearn all he knew. Paul the apostle, studied under the rabbi Gamaliel in Jerusalem, but also spent three years in the desert. ‘He counted all things garbage that he might know Christ’. Philippians 3:8 We too may need to give up some things in order for the Lord’s plans to be fulfilled in our own lives.
Many are called but few are Chosen. Matthew 22:14, parable of the wedding banquet.
We’ve been CHOSEN AND APPOINTED FOR A PURPOSE that goes all the way into eternity. What a privilege, let’s honour the Lord and pursue His calling on our lives.
May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.
Wishing everyone a blessed and peaceful weekend.