I have chosen you

If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. John 15:19

I remember as a kid on the playground or during P.E. class, standing next to my best friend, and hearing the teacher or coach say, “Ok, now we’re going to pick teams.” When one of us would be picked we always tried to persuade the “captain” to choose the other of us to make sure we ended up on the same team. When we couldn’t make that happen, we found ourselves on opposing teams, and suddenly we were now opponents, just because someone had chosen us.

Jesus said that’s the way our lives are in this world. He is the “Captain of our faith”, and He chose each of us to be on His team. In being chosen by God, that immediately puts us at odds with the rest of the world, and Jesus says we will be hated, for no other reason than that we belong to Him.

One of the greatest mistakes we can make as believers is to try to “fit in” with the world. We have to realize we’re wearing opposing uniforms now and we can never fit in. We will always stand out, always be distinct, and always be at odds with the plans, dreams, and methods of the “opposing team”. The result is that sometimes we may not be liked. But we have been commanded to love them. “Love your enemies and don’t curse them”, Jesus said, “but rather bless them.” What a remarkable dichotomy we live in as followers of the Lord Jesus.

This is the power of the Christian life. We must realize we aren’t just passing time in this life. We have been called out of the world, chosen and set apart in order to now live our lives as a new humanity, His new creation in the midst of this fallen and dying world.

But in being left here to live we must never expect to just blend in, to fit in. The world is dying; we are living. The world is still in bondage to sin and death. We are free from both. The world is hopelessly looking for a reason to live. We have been found by God and been given the life the world is seeking. Yes, brothers and sisters, you were picked by a great Captain. You are on the winning team. But that isn’t a reason to gloat and coast through life. No, we must now call others to be a part of this great team

R. Martinez