Chosen

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. (Ephesians 1:1-4 ESV).

 

For the next few days in this New Year we’re going to explore some of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Our reading today is taken from the very first few verses of that letter. I want to focus on one phrase where the apostle says we are “chosen” by God “that we should be holy and blameless before him” (v. 4).

 

In order to get the idea of what he is saying I thought I’d begin with the day Mary and I “chose” Teddy (pictured here). As you can tell from the dress, I was working in the shop one warm Tennessee afternoon, when Mary called from PetsMart where Russell Rescue had brought some of their dogs for people to adopt. She told me she had found the perfect dog for us. Our previous dog had grown very old and developed canine dementia, ultimately leading to his death. We had him for over fourteen years and of course were very fond of him. Another dog was not a topic I was willing to take up yet, though as with most things, Mary knew best. She came back to pick me up and hurried me to the rescue site. I met Teddy and immediately saw the mischief in his eyes and thought: “This one’s going to be a challenge for sure.” But, as you can see we fell in love with him immediately and brought him home.

 

I was right about that mischievous look belying a challenge in him. And, Mary was right about him being the perfect dog for us. I could go on and on about the escapades we have enjoyed both in Tennessee and now in Texas, though my point is that we are like him. We all are in need of rescue. God has known that “since before the foundation of the world” and he sent Jesus to accomplish just that. He chose us knowing we couldn’t make it on our own and that we would be challenging and mischievous in our future. He loved us and continues to love us leading us to be holy and blameless in our journey.

 

I’m not sure how Teddy’s previous owners could “give him up.” We couldn’t then or now. Can I remind you that you, like me, have a heavenly Father who feels immeasurably more so toward you? God’s love for you goes deeper and farther than you could imagine. He CHOSE you! Take that thought and let it bear fruit into this New Year!