4 For we know, brothers and sisters[b] loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. – 1st Thessalonians
I was in sixth grade the first time I ever truly experienced the joy of being chosen. It was baseball season. If you think youth sports are competitive here in Illinois, try Texas. My family had just moved me to a new town in central Texas. The little league I participated in held open try-outs followed by a draft based on the try-out performance. This draft was public information. Every kid was drafted. Each kid even knew what order they were drafted. Before I move on from this let me say I think this was a terrible idea!! Kids have enough self-esteem issues. I understand try-outs for a travel team, but for a city league it felt over done. Anyways, I got lucky. On the first bitch during batting practice I hit a home run. This was the first home run I hit. I followed by whiffing on the next five pitches. Well, low and behold, I was number one pick.
What a rush of emotion I felt when I read the published draft results. I was on the worst team which stunk, but I was chosen. I was the first pick. Someone wanted me. This was an amazing feeling, and this passage from 1st Thessalonians reminds us that God also chose us first. God had many options. He could have restarted. We see a glimpse of this in the story of Noah’s Ark. God could have made another group of humans, perhaps better humans. God could of done anything.
Yet, He CHOSE us. He chose to become human. He chose to bear the burden of the cross so that we can have relationship with Him. One of my favorite philosophical theologians passed away recently. His name was Ravi Zacharias. I loved Ravi for the way he was able to weave his personal experience, philosophical education, and the bible together. In one of his teachings he talked about how he came to church as a young man after spending the night before having too much fun (fill in the blanks for the adults in the room). He talks about how this moment changed his life forever because at that church today he felt a deep conviction. This conviction was not because he sinned. It was a conviction to believe that God had chosen Ravi. There is power in choice.
God has chosen you. I pray this morning you are given the confidence to believe this message. We know the portions of our soul that make us cringe. We know our mistakes. We know our weaknesses. Guess what? So does God. He still chose you. Lean on that truth today and this weekend. God chose you.