What one thing do these all have in common? This is going to challenge your perspective, possibly even blow your mind. Take your time. Close your eyes, and imagine each scenario below.
– The captain of the sports team who represents his team in front of the officials
– The student-elected Homecoming King and the girl named Homecoming Queen
– The leader jury
– The baseball player who is the fourth up to bat, aka the cleanup hitter
– The soccer (or football, depending where you live) player that plays the position of striker
– The clothes on display in a store window, elaborately framing a mannequin
– Hand-picked fruit for sale in the front of a store
Do any of you see the commonality? You’re likely on the right track if you noticed that each of these things are referring to something or someone that is chosen, named, or picked. GOOD JOB!
Here is where it gets interesting. Will you be able to challenge your perspective? Imagine each scenario below carefully and think about the commonality.
– The eggs getting hurled at specific store fronts, car windows, or houses
– The elected government official who has gone out of favor and now faces angry masses
– The prize calf sacrificed at the altar in days of old
– The person in the crowd who dies by the bullets of a sniper
– The kid who gets bullied and laughed at by his classmates
– The old woman who gets her purse snatched by a thief
Do you see the commonality? Did any of you say targeted, singled out, or discriminated against? YES!
Okay now…put all of those thoughts together like a zipper in your mind, from the first example to the last. CHOSEN, TARGETED, NAMED, SINGLED OUT, PICKED, DISCRIMINATED. Do you see the commonality in them all?
Think of a group who might be considered the “CHOSEN FEW,” which in the Merriam-Webster is defined as a group of people who are special or different, typically in a way thought to be unfair, hopefully you can see them in both a positive and a negative light.
Try to visualize the chosen few in an extreme case suggesting a negative light, such as inmates on death row facing execution on the same day. Can you think of any other scenarios? Let it sit heavy with you for a bit before moving on.
Now, picture the chosen few in the most extreme of positive lights…the chosen few as portrayed in the Bible. Let those thoughts about being named among the chosen by Jesus warm your heart and inspire your faith.
“For many are invited, but few are chosen.” – Matthew 22:14 (NIV)
Likely, some of you are excited about thoughts of being chosen, or perhaps wondering why only a few are chosen in God’s grand plan for mankind. To be among the chosen few by Jesus is an amazing honor, for sure, and it’s incredibly humbling. It’s also laden with responsibility, and calls you to turn away from things and people that may have been very meaningful, comfortable, and dear to you. Many are invited (or called, as in the King James version) and only a few are chosen because in order to be chosen, you have to WANT this life with ALL of your heart. You can’t hold back even a little for yourself… relationships, concern for your own interests, or a desire to get noticed. In order to be chosen by God, you have to be 100% obedient to Jesus, 100% faithful to His calling, 100% willing to give everything else up in order to enjoy life eternal with your creator.
As part of the chosen few of the Kingdom of the Lion of Judah, the remnant of His people, Conquerors, and the Church as was prophesied about in Revelation 21, you will receive all the glories of heaven, peace that passes understanding, and life everlasting. And these are to name only a few of the unexplainable blessings that you will experience!
It’s SO, SO GOOD to be among the CHOSEN FEW, right?!
YES!!! 100% YES!!!
But, you then also will be: CHOSEN, TARGETED, NAMED, SINGLED OUT, PICKED, DISCRIMINATED
If you are called by Jesus – (if you have read this and it ignited your spirit, then you certainly are) – then the decision is truly yours to make whether you will be among the chosen. In the end, it will be determined by how you respond to God’s calling that is laid on your heart and the fruit that results because of that choice.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
You have plenty to ponder, so I am just going to leave you with this, which is Galatians 5:22-26 in The Message translation:
22-23 “But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.
23-24 Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.
25-26 Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.”
If you are among the CHOSEN FEW, you are THE CHURCH, and our time is now to come together across the world and rise up with a mighty ROAR.
(Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay, Message by Steph from identityfromjesus.com)