1 Peter 2:9
“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.”
We are a chosen people. Whenever I encounter this concept, I get wrapped up in the difficulty that God must have chosen those who are going to hell. However, scripture doesn’t teach that. The bulk of scripture teaches, “whosoever will, let him come”. Those are the words of a hymn which appear to be based on Revelation 22:17. It’s an open invitation.
I heard a fictional description of the banner over the entrance of heaven. It says at the entrance, “whosoever will, let him come”. As one passes through and looks back, the banner on the heaven side reads, “I have chosen you from the foundation of the world”. Both truths exist. Even though it may be difficult to comprehend, we need to celebrate our chosenness.
Being chosen for the right team during playground games is awesome. We are excited that the captain chose us. We feel great that someone thought we had the skills to contribute. God chose us. He did it out of love. We can wear His jersey and revel in it. Jesus calls us friends (John 15:15). He chose us to be part of His group. This is worthy of celebration.
We can’t say it’s because we were extra special. Part of me thinks it was the opposite. If there was a reason for His choosing, it may have been that we needed help. Jesus was criticized for eating with sinners. He answered His critics in Matthew 9:12, “But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.” Jesus doesn’t gravitate to life’s winners. In reality, we are all sick. We just don’t know it. That’s why Jesus said in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.” We’re all poor in spirit. We all don’t know it. When we respond to His offer to help, we are blessed. To further the point that we weren’t chosen because of our awesomeness, there’s 1 Corinthians 1:27. “but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.”
Lord, thank You that You chose us. Help us to celebrate that. We are Your children, we are Your friends and You are our God. Thank You for wanting us on Your team.