Chosen

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

 “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy  and blameless before Him in love.” 

            Do you see that?   He chose us.  He actually chose us.  Now, I know that when I go to a store to buy something, and I have some time to ponder what I really want, I will choose that which will bring me some kind of pleasure – a new dress, some different earrings, or maybe a great cut of steak for dinner.  But because I took the time to choose it, I find that I enjoy it all the more.  Now, I am not comparing myself to a juicy steak, mind you, but when we think about being chosen in Him we simply HAVE to think about what that really means.  Remember in Jr. High when teams were chosen?  I never was the captain of a team, because I wasn’t the best athlete in the world.  I was however, pretty well-rounded -- and certainly not the worst either – in the middle I guess is a good description.  But when those captains would choose their teams, the best players always got picked first.  I will never forget the day when I was the first pick for a game of kickball.  I was chosen first – not just the leftovers.  I was chosen – out of the whole group, it was me first, and then the others.  That is the mind picture I get when I read these words in Ephesians.  He chose us.  We were picked – kind of like looking for the reddest, ripest strawberries in the patch – choosing the ones we KNOW will be dripping in sweet juice.   We skim over the just turning pink ones, and the little green ones, and even the dark, over ripe purple ones, looking for the choicest, the very best ones.  That is what it means to be chosen.  And chosen we are.  But let’s keep going.   He chose us for a reason.  We weren’t chosen to just sit there looking good.  We were chosen to be “holy and blameless before Him in love.”