Are You Chosen?

November 11, 2010

“I have chosen you,” says the Lord of hosts (Haggai 2:23, NKJV).

Remember standing in line on the playground while the team leaders chose their groups? Remember being the one not chosen? Remember the humiliation of hearing the leaders argue over who “has” to include you on their team? Maybe that wasn’t you. Maybe you were one of the first ones chosen, and you remember the joy and exhilaration of hearing your name called early on. Or maybe you were somewhere in between, in which case you may remember hoping to be called as soon as possible so you wouldn’t end up too close to the end.
Whatever the case, we all experienced some of the effects of being “chosen”—or not. If we weren’t, perhaps we pretended as if it didn’t matter, but it did, didn’t it? No one wants to be rejected. We all want to be chosen. And God knows that better than we ever could…because He designed us that way. He wants to choose us, and He wants us to respond accordingly. It is His heart’s desire that we willingly choose to belong to Him. But inherent in that choice is a willingness to respond to His call as well as His choice.
What is that call? It’s a call to serve on His team, shoulder to shoulder with the others He has called and chosen. Just as the leader or captain of a sports team chooses team members so they can participate in the game, God chooses us so we can participate in the work of His Kingdom. We aren’t chosen simply so we can know where we will end up when we breathe our last here on earth. We are chosen to serve our team Captain in the fulfilling of the ministry of reconciliation, which Jesus began and has now committed to us.
If you haven’t already responded to God’s call and joined His team, don’t wonder whether or not He’s calling you; He is. Now you need to respond. And then you need to listen and find out what He has purposed for you to do once you’ve joined the team.
We are called, we are chosen…and we are on the only winning team. But no one is called or chosen to sit on the sidelines. God has a purpose for you. Find out what it is…and then dedicate the rest of your life to fulfilling it. I promise you, there is no greater joy!