When You Are Chosen

This afternoon, as I was reviewing a certain joy of the day, the words of Luke 15:3-7 came to mind: “Jesus told this story, ‘If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do?  Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders.  When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.”  

What was the joy of the day?  I got to go with friends, Viv and Nat, to look at puppies!  Would they choose one?  Yes, they did!  This pup needed a home and now has one.  She was chosen.  Now she will learn the ways of her household.  She will settle into their routine.  She will love pleasing them.  She will love hearing the words, “You’re a good dog!”  She will love her tasty rewards.  She will know she is protected and that her needs are provided.  She will come to know and trust all these things.  Why?  Because already she knows she is loved.

She has been rescued from the very small world she knew.  Today, an unimaginable new world opened before her.   She rode in a car, walked on grass, and went inside a house.  Goodness gracious!  What excitement for one who had thus far only known the four walls of a makeshift kennel — and it all came about because she was chosen.  Someone came, found her, chose her, and will love her all the days of her life.

Sound familiar?  Before someone comes to know Jesus, they, too, are confined to their natural worlds.  Then, one joyful day, Jesus comes, like the shepherd going after his lost sheep, and He takes them unto Himself.

He chooses us.  He sees our worldly and ungodly hearts, and He cleans us up.  He gives us new desires.  He pours in a joy that nothing in the natural world ever gave us.  It’s unexplainable but it’s real.  Suddenly, we are reborn into an eternal security that makes us know of a certainty that we are chosen, protected, and our needs are provided.  The more we come to know our rescuer, the more we trust Him, the more we love to please Him, the more we want to know about Him, the more we love hearing Him speak into our hearts, “You’re a good son or you’re a good daughter!”  The more we know Him, the more we recognize and enjoy the blessings of being a member of His household.  Like the words of the song, our hearts can sing, “the longer I know Him, the sweeter He grows.”

Isn’t it a joy to be chosen?  Isn’t it a joy to be rescued from our natural worlds and to be introduced to the holy, supernatural one?  Remember, everyone is chosen, but not everyone accepts what is offered.  God chooses us, but gives us free choice to choose Him.

Have you chosen Him?  If you never have done so before, you can do that right now.  Just ask Him to forgive you of your sins, thank Jesus for dying for you on the cross, and tell Him you choose Him.  Ask Him to come into your life and to make you new.  He will.  He will come instantly.  He will come and fill you with a joy such as you have never known.

Blessings to all — you are chosen.