Chosen

I'm pretty sure most of us experienced those days in school and beyond where we picked teams. Maybe it was formal, a "captain" for each team alternating choices for their team from a line-up of people. Maybe it was informal, like a party or a group of friends choosing friends. We've all been there. Maybe you were one of the popular kids or the talented kids. You got picked first. Maybe you were doing the picking. Unfortunately, that end of the bell curve isn't very populous. Most of us fell in the middle to end. Getting picked at all for some of us was a real question. And it was hard on the self-image. We all want to be "chosen."

What determined that choice? Skill? Popularity? The "pretty people"? It was something about ... you. You and how others thought of you. Then we read something fascinating in Scripture.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. (Eph 1:3-6)

That is astounding. Paul says God "has blessed us with every spiritual blessing," meaning "already done." The very first one he lists is "He chose us in Him." We got picked for God's team. Why? Our skill, popularity, good works? Not one bit. We were chosen "before the foundation of the world" and the basis of this choice is "in Him"—the Lord Jesus Christ. In Romans, Paul writes that God chose Jacob over Esau not on the basis of anything they had done, but “so that God's purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls” (Rom 9:11). Where would Paul get such an outlandish idea? Well, in Deuteronomy God explains to the Israelites that He didn’t choose them because of who they were, but “because YHWH loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers” (Deut 7:6-8). God chose us “to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Eph 1:6). He chose us because of the great love with which He loved us (Eph 2:4; Rom 5:8). He chose us “to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory” (Rom 9:23). He chose us to conform us to the image of His Son (Rom 8:28-29). He chose us not for what we are, but for what He can do.

Many Christians aren’t happy with the notion of being chosen, especially for nothing we do. At least He chose us because He knew we’d choose Him … right? If not because we’re pretty cuddly creatures? We’d like to think that, but every indication in Scripture says we’re chosen, and we’re chosen specifically to display His love, His grace, His mercy. Nothing in us. We qualified as demons (James 2:19) and enemies of God (Rom 5:10; Rom 8:7), and He chooses to include us in His kingdom because He’s so magnificent. Welcome to the new choosing line. “Not because of works but because of Him who calls” (Rom 9:11).