CHOSEN

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Colossians 3:12

I used to be confused about "God's chosen people." If the Jews were and God's chosen people, what does that make me? Well, I have read and studied and asked a lot of questions...I am no expert in Biblical theory, and I by no means have the answers. But, this is the way I feel God has helped me to understand it. Anyone who believes in God and believes that he sent his only son, Jesus Christ to earth to take on the sins of the world...to be our own personal Savior...anyone who believes that has Christ in his heart and becomes one of God's chosen people. God created ALL people...we are ALL his children. But, some of us have opened our eyes, ears and hearts to god's plan for our salvation and we CHOSE God....therefore, He chooses us!

Ok, now that I have figured out that I am CHOSEN by God, I can truly work to fulfill His call for me. I have been doing a LOT of thinking lately about what that calling is. But I think the verse from Colossians above tells me clearly. WHATEVER I do with my life, in my job, in my home, with my friends, in my community...I should do those things with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. If I am one of God's chosen ones, then I need to act like it and be Jesus to everyone I meet. Since Jesus was perfect, and was all those things all the time, that is a hard act to follow...it is hard and impossible for us who are not perfect to be all those things all the time. But, I think God wants us to try.

Perhaps God is not calling us to specific jobs or careers...perhaps He is calling us to a JOB that is bigger and more important than any job you could possibly have on this earth. If those of us who CHOSE God and know that he CHOSE us would work hard at the job of being compassionate more often, and kinder to more people, and think less of our own needs and more of the needs around us, and had more patience with people at home and at the grocery store and on the highway....if WE did that and truly fulfilled our calling we would have more impact on this world than through any career we might chose for ourselves.

That is a big request and a big job. We are not going to be perfect at it...we will fail at times, we will not do our best at times. But I believe it is what I am called to do. How about you?