Chosen
You did not choose me, but I chose you that you may go and
bear fruit and that your fruit may endure. John 15:16
When
I was growing up, I felt like I had a sign on my forehead that said, ALMOST
GOOD ENOUGH BUT NOT QUITE. It was more than not being part of the in
crowd. I grew to hate PE, especially if
we picked teams. I was almost always
among the last 3 to be chosen. Academic teams were a completely different
story, but the pattern started early of focusing on what I couldn’t do rather
than what I could do. As I got older, I tried out for teams and groups, and
many times I almost made it. All district choir. All district band. Homecoming
Court. There were 9 girls in my ninth grade class and 8 spots on the Homecoming
Court. I was the one sitting in the bleachers. It was the same story with
cheerleading tryouts. I had a very rational response. I grew to hate
cheerleaders. Interviews, when I made it to the top 2 or 3 and didn’t make the
final cut, added to the feeling. None of
these experiences by themselves were that bad, but the sum of them left me with
deep wounds. I felt like I would always fall short, no matter what I tried.
This conflicted with the message that if I tried hard enough I could get
anything I wanted and do anything I wanted. I was confused and frustrated. I coped by trying to never hope so I would
not be disappointed. Would you like to guess how well that worked out?
Even growing up knowing God, I was
shocked when I found what Jesus said in John 15:16. You did not choose me, but
I chose you that you might go and bear fruit and your fruit should endure. This
verse began the slow process of setting me free.
Maybe you are like me. Maybe you have
wounds from rejection. Maybe you don’t see why anyone would choose you, much
less the God who created heaven and earth. It is the truth, though. He assures
us over and over that we are His beloved and His chosen. Isaiah 43:1 says that
he calls us by name. Imagine being at an event where the governor is speaking.
When he announces the team to manage a ne w project, He calls your name. He
doesn’t just say, I want the short lady with the short blond hair. He says, “I
want Susan on my team. I have work for her to do.” What an honor that would be,
and that is what God did for each of us.
He told Jeremiah that he chose him and consecrated him (set him apart) to be a
prophet before he was born. You, like Jeremiah, were made on purpose. Ephesians
2:10 says God had good works prepared in advance for us to do. Finally 1 Peter
2 tells us that we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation and a peculiar people so that we
should show forth the praises of God, who has called us out of darkness into
his marvelous light.
Knowing the truth of our destiny, it is
vital that we get that truth into our spirits. We have walked around long
enough in hurt, fear and rejection. If the enemy can keep us there we will not
do the works that God prepared in advance and we will not show forth the
praises of God. The enemy will shine the light on our rejections and replay our
hurts in our minds like DVDs. We can choose to take hold of the spotlight and
shine it instead on God’s acceptance and show others how to do the same.
One final note: once, on a retreat, I
was dealing with rejection that I felt. I had an image of my hand and it was
bleeding from many places, like pin pricks. Then I saw Jesus nail scarred hand
superimposed on mine. He said, “What is their rejection compared to my
acceptance.” Good question.
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