DAILY READING
REFLECTION
To Be Chosen
by David Thompson
What does it mean to be chosen? There is a commercial on TV that is of a girl who is adopted and she tells the story that a man in her life selected her to be his daughter. The commercial is advertising some jewelry, but her words touched me as she felt rejected by her biological parents and now she had a person (presumably her step dad) who "chose" her to be his kin.
The first verse of today's passage states what it is to be chosen by God: "Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved..." It is an amazing feeling to know that like a step-parent who selects you to be his or hers through the adoption process there was a definite act that had to be enacted. You were chosen and as in the above passage were "holy and dearly loved." What a great feeling. And the best part is that we can be in that place without a lot of bureaucratic paperwork or money changing hands. Because of what Christ did through the cross, we are told to simply believe in Him and what He did to forgive our sins and close the gap of separation that sin causes.
Christ asks for the following, not to be saved, but as a reaction for this wonderful gift of salvation. He states in the passage: "clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Christ states in Matthew 22:38-40, " Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
These verses sum up both our position and the hope of our transition to being a Christian. You see, we are saved immediately and our position in Christ is fixed, but over time we grow in our faith as seen once again in today's passage, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Praise God for all of this. God is so GOOD!
PRAYER PRACTICE
Dear God, thank you for the example of what it is like to be forgiven, so we might forgiving others. Thank you for choosing us and making us sons and daughters of yours. Give us courage to reach out to non-believers whether they be strangers or loved ones and tell them what it is like to be in a close personal relationship with You. In all things let us give thanks. Amen and Amen.
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