To be chosen
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians 3:12-13 (NIV)
Many scriptures show that we are chosen by God. The two above explain what we are chosen for: to give love to others and show God’s light to the world.
Being chosen is an amazing feeling isn’t it? Almighty God chose you! He picked you!
Think back to PE class at school. Being chosen for a team, what did it feel like? You took the team name. That felt good, helped make you feel like you mattered, and you belonged. It spurred you on to get involved.
How did you respond? By knitting yourself to everyone else, as one unit. By listening intently to the captain and following orders, and by giving your best. You played for your team, you scored for your team, you were proud of your team. It gave you a chance of winning, it grew you as an individual, as the coach gave you constructive criticism, and it taught you how to cooperate with others. It showed you how individuals can cohere as one.
You responded with enthusiasm. You made sure you were at every match, and you practised between matches. You encouraged other team members and you celebrated together when things went well, commiserated when they didn’t.
What didn’t you do? You didn’t seek to suddenly score a goal for the other side mid-game, or turn about-face and start tackling your own defenders. You didn’t occasionally wear the other team’s colours so as not to stand out. Or pretend you weren’t in the team when you were in conversation with others outside.
In Paul’s analogy in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, the church ‘team’ is referred to as ‘the body of Christ’. A body functions at its best when all of its parts are following the head’s direction and working together in harmony, valuing each other and sharing a common objective. Without this it can become immobile. As we’ve already seen we’ve been chosen to be the team that represents Jesus to others, that is the common objective. Let’s work in harmony and with love and enthusiasm to mobilise the body of Christ.
Prayer
Father, thank you so much for choosing us to show love to others and your light to the world, as the body of Christ. Thank you that we can already claim victory because of the saving work Jesus has done. Help us through your spirit to be wholeheartedly involved as good team players, valuing our fellow team mates, following the guidance we are given, giving our best with enthusiasm and joy. Just as you do for us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Study by Helen Francis
About the writer:
Helen Francis attends the Leeds congregation of Grace Communion International
Local congregation:
Grace Communion Leeds
Garden Village Welfare Association Community Centre
133 Pendas Way
Leeds
LS15 8LE
Meeting time:
Saturday 2pm
Local congregational contact:
Email: leeds@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church