Chosen by God

Who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood… —1 Peter 1:2

Why did God make you you and not somebody else? Do you think God misfired? Do you think that there are accidents with God? Do you not know that God had you in mind from all eternity and He shaped you in your mother’s womb, overruling every experience you knew? It is all part of God fashioning you. For He has a purpose for your life, and He has given you something that is yours.

Your calling is irrevocable. This is the promise of a gift from God. It will not be something that you will lose. Something may be wrong with you, but your gift will be intact.

It is too easy to claim a false modesty in this. All of us who are in the body have been given a gift: you may be the eye, you may be the hand, you may be the foot, but the question is, how do you use it (1 Cor. 12:14-26)? Will you make others recognize it? To put it another way, suppose that you are right about something and you know it. You could, if you wanted to, by one word spill the beans and just vindicate yourself.

But what would Jesus have done? As we have seen, Jesus was God, yet He never thrust this upon anyone. They always saw Him only as a man. He revealed His deity to Peter, James, and John on the mountain when He was transfigured before them, yet even then He told them to keep it quiet. But Jesus was vindicated by the Spirit. The Spirit’s witness was enough for Him, and the Spirit’s willingness to show others who Jesus was, was enough for Him. He did not need to broadcast who He was.

He was always found where and when God wanted Him. We need to be found in the same place. Just to know that we are pleasing the Father should be enough. It is upon that goal that we must set our minds.

Excerpted from Meekness and Majesty (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1992, 2000).