“You
did not choose Me, but I chose you. I appointed you that you should go out and
produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the
Father in My name, He will give you.” – John 15:16 (HCSB)
“It’s Nice to be Wanted”
Annually, the first Wednesday of February is a big day for thousands of football players around the country. It’s known as National Signing Day. This is the first day that a high school senior can sign a binding “letter of intent” for college football with a NCAA supporting academic institution. The journey to get to this day is a long process for many student-athletes, parents, and coaches that have worked tirelessly in this recruiting process with phone calls, texts, home and campus visits. For the top recruits this process has been going on since attending camps in middle school and some have even dealt with national media evaluation and scrutiny by ESPN and other media sources. Some kids, depending on their athleticism and academic standing, might have hundreds of letters while others might just have a couple of local schools interested. But I think each kid and family to a person would say, “It’s nice to be wanted (or chosen).”
Annually, the first Wednesday of February is a big day for thousands of football players around the country. It’s known as National Signing Day. This is the first day that a high school senior can sign a binding “letter of intent” for college football with a NCAA supporting academic institution. The journey to get to this day is a long process for many student-athletes, parents, and coaches that have worked tirelessly in this recruiting process with phone calls, texts, home and campus visits. For the top recruits this process has been going on since attending camps in middle school and some have even dealt with national media evaluation and scrutiny by ESPN and other media sources. Some kids, depending on their athleticism and academic standing, might have hundreds of letters while others might just have a couple of local schools interested. But I think each kid and family to a person would say, “It’s nice to be wanted (or chosen).”
Have you ever been wanted for something? (No, I’m not talking about
being wanted by law enforcement) I’m referring to recognition or awareness of a
special gift or talent you can bring to a given situation – i.e. sports, music,
art, technology, and communication. It’s nice to be wanted. I think we can all
remember our days of P.E. on the school playground and the teacher picking two
captains who then select their teammates based on skill or level of friendship
from the “best” to the “scrub”. I’m sure you had the select few who always were
picked toward the top and the similar group that always seemed to be at the
bottom. You always felt a moment of exhilaration or relief if picked early
while feeling what seemed like a “lifetime” of self-doubt or criticism because
you went last…again. Did we say: “It’s nice to be wanted?”
Well, let’s get to the heart of this and what really counts. Most of us
are probably long past the “recruiting or picking” stage in our lives – at
least on the playground or sports world. Yes, we still may have to deal with “recruitment”
when it comes to our jobs or special projects and let’s be honest “it’s nice to
be wanted.” But what we need to clearly understand is that this world is
temporal and whether we are noticed or recruited by mankind for lots of things
really doesn’t matter when it comes to the truth of our journey or relationship
with Jesus Christ. We need to know that He has something to say about it.
Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you.”
WOW! He chose us! This is a reality that should give the greatest feeling and
one that should never end. He sees value in each of us and has given us some
clear examples from other Scripture of what He means.
Created in the image of God.
“So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.” – Genesis 1:27 (HCSB)
“So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.” – Genesis 1:27 (HCSB)
God’s sacrifice of His Son to pay the price
for our sin.
“What
then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He did not even spare His own Son but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything?” –
Romans 8:31-32 (HCSB)
We can clearly see we matter to God and he proved it through His
actions, not just words. But why did He do this? It says as John 15:16
continues that we should “go out and produce
fruit”. There is hope! We are wanted.
We aren’t accidents. God has a purpose for each of us. We may make
mistakes. He is known as the giver of second-chances. Life is not meaningless.
We all have a mission that Jesus himself called us to. What does that look like
in everyday life? The apostle
Paul described it this way in our Scripture
to Claim:
Therefore,
God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, accepting one
another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another.
Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. Above all,
put on love—the perfect bond of unity.” – Colossians 3:12-14 (HCSB)
When we finally realize that our life in His hands is the best place to
be, we get a clearer picture of what it means “to be wanted”
by Jim Garner
