Chosen

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 
1 Peter 2:9

I can remember the reoccurring event. Two boys stand in a field; both pick a team for a scrap football game. I waited as boy after boy after boy was chosen. I wiped my sweating palms against my pants. My heart raced until I finally heard my name. Sometimes I was picked last, other times I landed higher up in the pecking order. It is not cool to be chosen last, and it is embarrassing.

But God chose us before the foundation of the world. He set His affection on us before we were born. He has called the entire world to receive His gift of salvation, but it is only those who respond to the call that become His chosen ones. God foreknew who would accept Him and who would reject Him.

We can rejoice in the knowledge that we are chosen by God. He didn't choose us because we had it all together. No, we can never earn His acceptance. We are accepted in the beloved because of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. He paid the price for us to be redeemed.

Those of us who have invited Jesus to be their Lord and Savior can bask in the truth that we are His chosen ones and we are members of His wonderful family. We are all equal before Him, and none of us have been chosen last. Let's rejoice in the fact that we are chosen by God the Father. What an awesome truth to behold. We each have been picked to be a key player on God's winning team!