Life of the BelovedSample

You Did Not Choose Me, But I Chose You

Whether we realize it or not, the picture of God imprinted on our hearts shapes the person we are becoming in this life and the life to come. In time, what we believe about God and who we are as His beloved children will form the foundation on which our lives will be built. In light of these truths, we would do well to slow down and routinely take an inventory of the truths and the lies about God that have taken up residency in our hearts.

In 1 John 3:1-2 NRSV, we read, "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is."

As a child of God, you are chosen by God.

When you feel rejected by the world, God sees you.

You are not an afterthought or a mistake. The truth is that you were made in the image of God.

God has not abandoned you or left you to navigate this life alone. The truth is that He desires to know you and be known by you so that your joy might be complete in Him.

Let the words that Jesus spoke to His disciples, words that He is still speaking over us today, draw you close to Him. "You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name." (See John‬ ‭15‬:‭16‬ ‭NRSV‬‬)

As you go, reflect on the writing of Henri Nouwen, who said, "From all eternity, long before you were born and became part of history, you existed in God's heart. Long before your parents admired you or your friends acknowledged your gifts or your teachers, colleagues, and employers encouraged you, you were already 'chosen.' The eyes of love had seen you as precious, as of infinite beauty, as of eternal value. When love chooses, it chooses with a perfect sensitivity for the unique beauty of the chosen one, and it chooses without making anyone else feel excluded."