Chosen By God

Now that the Super Bowl is over it’s time to move quickly through basketball and onto “America’s Game,” baseball.

I attended Washington Grade School in Coquille, OR. Perhaps team selection was different in other parts of the country, although I doubt it. First, the teachers assigned two people to be captains—an unbelievable honor. Next we all lined up so they could look us over and choose their teams.

I still carry the emotional scars.

I had almost zero athletic aptitude. I never ran very fast. Pitching and throwing weren’t my forte.

My depth perception was poor, so not once did I hit a ball with the bat. That meant if I was to get on base at all I had to hope the pitcher accidentally hit me with the ball-- a blessed automatic walk. For me a good day of baseball meant I scored for my team without ever touching the baseball.

And if all that wasn’t enough, I didn’t own my own baseball glove. Maybe that’s why it has been so difficult for me to see myself as chosen by God.

John 15:16 quotes Jesus as saying, “You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: love one another.”

Being chosen by the King is much more significant than just being on a team. We aren’t just players. We are given an opportunity to join the family that owns the entire field.  

Paul clarified our birthright when he wrote this to the Ephesians:

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.

Paul is saying that we became members of the royal family of God when we said yes to the Prince.

There’s a big difference between standing near the dugout and hoping this week’s captain picks you for the team, or having the eternal Creator King, Redeemer Prince, and Spirit of all Truth look you up and down and say, “Stand over here with me. There’s a spot for you in the owner’s skybox.”

But that is only the beginning. Metaphorically speaking, as co-owners of the team there is work to do. We need to assure that everyone feels welcome: those who share our sky box, those who only show up on game day, as well as everyone who hasn’t yet accepted even a “late call” ticket to the game.

We no longer have the luxury of living our bad habits and painful patterns just because it’s all we have learned and it’s comfortable. We must learn to behave like the royalty. Why? Because the King of kings determined our birthright before we were even born. The Prince of Peace gave his life so we would live with him forever. And the Spirit of Truth travels with us every day encouraging, protecting, and transforming us so we reflect our royal heritage.  

But there’s one more thing. Once we said “yes” to the invitation, we were given the power and authority to use our royal position for good. We have a calling to fight for justice and walk in peace. We live in a broken world where there is much work to be done.

1 Corinthians 2:9 says: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”