But you are a chosen people, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the
praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (I Peter 2:9)
Getting back to the issue of our
identity, Peter doesn’t pull any punches. We are chosen. If you read the Old Testament,
you’ll see that Israel was a chosen people. They were called to be a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, and a people belonging to God, But God tells them repeatedly
that they weren’t chosen because they were worthy, and they didn’t even become
worthy because they were chosen. In fact, they became more corrupt. The nasty
game show buzzer that says, “Wrong Answer” seemed an almost constant soundtrack
for the nation for nearly two thousand years. Because of this, the idea that we
are chosen people because we deserve it deserves a ROFL, but the truth is, I
struggle with the idea of being a chosen person.
I tell myself that I don’t resent the fact that I’m not worthy to be chosen, but that might be hiding behind the reason I give sometimes. It’s not a constant thought, but watch carefully. I am sort of like Jonah. Jonah got mad at God because he knew, he just knew that if he weren’t Nineveh, and those rotten, cruel, terrible, no good people repented, God would withhold judgment on them. Read the story, you can hear his blood boil.
I sometimes get angry, or depressed because God didn’t choose me because I’m good. He chose me because He’s good. That much is true, and I can rejoice in it along with you. The problem is that God’s choosing me sometimes feels like He draws names from a basket. “Chosen one number whatever, Karen Keil. Ho hum. Let’s move on to the next one.”
When speakers tell the audience of which I’m a member that God is “crazy about you,” sometimes, it seems like they are demeaning God. Why would God behave in such an undignified manner about me? I counter that with the verse in Psalm 139 where (as I see it in my mind’s eye) God stops what He’s doing because I’m thinking … “He perceives my thoughts from afar.” It makes me wish I had higher quality thoughts more often.
For whatever reason He chose me, and for whatever reason He chose you, the point is that we have been chosen. I should be more grateful and less suspicious. You should be more grateful and less whatever it is in you that resists Him.
In the Hunger Games trilogy, there are a couple times when Katniss basically curls up in a ball and says, “My name is Katniss Everdeen.” She follows that proclamation with one or two other facts that are just as simple. Today, I suggest that you and I both spend a little time saying, “My name is _______ (fill in the blank) and I am a chosen one.” And don’t be surprised if part of you resists. Just keep agreeing with Scripture.
I tell myself that I don’t resent the fact that I’m not worthy to be chosen, but that might be hiding behind the reason I give sometimes. It’s not a constant thought, but watch carefully. I am sort of like Jonah. Jonah got mad at God because he knew, he just knew that if he weren’t Nineveh, and those rotten, cruel, terrible, no good people repented, God would withhold judgment on them. Read the story, you can hear his blood boil.
I sometimes get angry, or depressed because God didn’t choose me because I’m good. He chose me because He’s good. That much is true, and I can rejoice in it along with you. The problem is that God’s choosing me sometimes feels like He draws names from a basket. “Chosen one number whatever, Karen Keil. Ho hum. Let’s move on to the next one.”
When speakers tell the audience of which I’m a member that God is “crazy about you,” sometimes, it seems like they are demeaning God. Why would God behave in such an undignified manner about me? I counter that with the verse in Psalm 139 where (as I see it in my mind’s eye) God stops what He’s doing because I’m thinking … “He perceives my thoughts from afar.” It makes me wish I had higher quality thoughts more often.
For whatever reason He chose me, and for whatever reason He chose you, the point is that we have been chosen. I should be more grateful and less suspicious. You should be more grateful and less whatever it is in you that resists Him.
In the Hunger Games trilogy, there are a couple times when Katniss basically curls up in a ball and says, “My name is Katniss Everdeen.” She follows that proclamation with one or two other facts that are just as simple. Today, I suggest that you and I both spend a little time saying, “My name is _______ (fill in the blank) and I am a chosen one.” And don’t be surprised if part of you resists. Just keep agreeing with Scripture.
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