I Thessalonians I
For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you. (I Thessalonians 1:4 ESV)
Chosen
Whenever I was picked at school for the kickball team, the dodgeball team, the baseball team, or the Red Rover team, it was never because of any athletic skill I possessed. Because I did not possess any.
I was usually picked last. Or nearly last.
Unless the selector was one of my particular friends.
On those occasional occasions, I was picked because I was loved.
It might not have seemed fair… early elementary school nepotism… but it warmed my heart.
God’s choice works the same way. He does not need me on His team. He knows my faults, my brokenness, my unreliability, my bad decisions, my sins… but He loves me.
And so He chooses me. Not instead of anyone else. Not in comparison to anyone else. Not out of practical preference.
But because He loves me.
Every one of God’s people is in that exact place, on this same team.
He chooses because He loves.