Love to hear from and know who is listening
Everyone wants to be chosen. I have vivid memories from my childhood gym class. We would playing a game and needed to divide up and choose teams. First captains had to be chosen. Then one by one the captains would pick those that wanted on their team. Those who were the most physically gifted always got picked first. I was never the first one to be chosen, but I usually wasn't the last. I must say it was brutal for those who were the last to be chosen. One by one the captains would pick their teams until there were only 2 children standing side by side. Once the there was only one person left you could hear the disappointment in the captains voice and he or she would say, I guess I will take Johnnie. It is not much different for adults. Sometimes as adults we are seeking awards for a job well done or maybe it is a promotion at work that we just must have. So what does the bible say about being chosen.
Matthew 22:14 NKJV For many are called, but few are chosen.
This verse is the conclusion to the Parable of the Wedding Feast. Jesus spoke this parable to show what the kingdom of heaven will be like when the end of the age comes. In the parable, the king sends his servants out to gather the wedding guests to the wedding feast. But those invited refused to come, some because they were too busy with their own worldly pursuits and some because they were positively hostile toward the king. So the king commands his servants to go out and invite anyone they find, and many come and fill the wedding hall. But the king sees one man without wedding clothes, and he sends him away. Jesus concludes by saying that many are called/invited to the kingdom, but only those who have been “chosen” and have received Christ will come. Those who try to come without the covering of the blood of Christ for their sins are inadequately clothed and will be sent into outer darkness, or hell. Many people hear the call of God But only a few will respond because they are the ones who are truly hearing. If you have placed your faith in God it is because he chose you first, before the even the foundations of the earth were created. You weren't God's last choice. He did settle for you because there were no other options.
Ephesians 1:4-6 NIV For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to son-ship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
How do we know if we are among the few that chosen? By responding to the call from the Holy Spirit. If we listen with our spiritual ears and respond to the invitation, there will be fear and trembling in our souls as we recognize that it was God’s work in us that caused our salvation. God is still calling us to be His. He has called us from the ends of the earth and has chosen us and not rejected us. God sent His son Jesus to die for us so that we would be redeemed and become his children.
John 1:12 NIV Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
We may be forgotten by others, not chosen, but we are not forgotten by God. No matter what we’ve done, Jesus has already paid the price and has given us an opportunity to live a new life. No matter what you have done in your past God can still use you. Paul used to kill Christians but God still chose to use Paul.
