JUST BE 30-DAY CHALLENGE
Just BE Chosen – Day Fifteen
Webster says ‘Chosen’ means select, decided, wanted, desired; selected from several; preferred
Synonyms: exclusive, elect, named, preferred, picked, select, called
GOD says in Colossians 3:12-14, ‘So chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It is your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it (MSG).’
Where did team events find you when you were in school? I recall like it was yesterday the dreaded picking of teams in PE and other class and recess events. I was fortunate to not be the last one selected, and often I was a ‘team captain’, which means I was the one doing the ‘picking’. That also meant to my empathetic spirit, deep discomfiture. I had friends who were unwanted and unlovely and chosen last, and acquaintances, who were being branded every time they were not ‘chosen’ to represent anything. I failed those because it would have tarnished me to protect their identities with selections far more than it tainted me to be loyal with who I walked in line with. In my adult-life, I am defiantly an underdog purveyor. I align and find comfort with the patch that is just grateful for the loyalty of a friend or loved one and my answer or decision is often the unpopular opinion.
But, I do finally know, I am Chosen. I am called, highly favored, and it takes my breath away to be hand-picked by God. I think about Mary, and cannot possibly grasp what went through that teenage feminine mind, when the Angel of the Lord fell upon her, choosing her to step out of adolescence into eminence and authority and estrangement from anyone who might ‘get’ her. ‘Pick me; pick me’; right? That’s what life begs. We hire Dance Moms and follow Twitter and scroll up and down Facebook and Instagram and can’t stand not looking at the PING that sounds as soon as we send the most recent story or pic or post just to see if we are ‘chosen’.
But, more remarkable than all that, is ‘Chosen by God’. He fit me for a wardrobe He fashioned after me. He is the Master Designer Discipline and my garment is fashioned by Love, on a fabric that is 60% Compassion and 40% Kindness, and thanks to Forgiveness, my dress is shrink-free. It is sewn with Quiet Strength and Humility adorns its hem. Even-tempered is a reflective coating that causes the stains of life to roll off this fabric due to its Contentedness rating. I should wear it above all else, and never be without it, like Lioness’ blankie.
I am an exclusive member of a small club (Christians). I have notoriety there at this club (Christ-Followers). I have a membership paid for by the initiation someone famous (Jesus) covered for me. My lifetime membership (Eternity) cannot be revoked or given away, stolen or traded. I am beyond a preferred guest; I am chosen. I am grateful.
Day 15 Challenge: Thank God for choosing you!
