The apostle Paul wrote the...
Illustration
The apostle Paul wrote the church at Thessalonica and told them that God had chosen them to be his people. What would you think if the mailperson brought such a letter to you? Think you could handle that? Perhaps you have already received lots of mail that tells you that you are God's. I have a friend from college days who struggled with this concept of "God's chosen." He insisted we were all God's chosen or else God was playing favorites. This bothered him to no end. He was one of those young men who seemed destined to leadership in his denomination, but his denomination's message troubled him. Until he resolved this matter, he would not even go on to seminary. Eventually his studies took him to England, and there he became one of London's best-known pastors. But the matter of being chosen had to be worked out in the head as well as in the heart. Have you resolved this matter in your heart as well as your head? You, with all your warts and uniqueness, are God's chosen. That means we have a job fulfilling the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19, because only the chosen can carry the message of God's love. Look around and you will find a chance to spread the Good News. That's what God's chosen people do.
-- Shearer
-- Shearer
