Chosen

You did not choose me, but I chose you.
John 15:16

With full knowledge of your past failings and present defects of character, God chose you anyway. That's mind-blowing grace! It's also atruth that's hard to hold on to when you're having a bad day and under-performing spiritually.

What does it mean to be chosen?
(1) To be chosen is to be seen as unique! Each one of us cries out to be noticed, to be special, not just one more of the same. And with God,"everybody is somebody." In His eyes there are no misfits, rejects, or second-class citizens.
(2) To be recognised as having something to contribute! Chosen people are significant. Their biographies get written and read because their stories matter. They establish God's Kingdom on the earth. Understand this: God thinks you have something to contributethat no one else can.
(3) To be wanted by God! For people with empty hearts and wounded pasts, the only true basis for self-worth - is God's unchanging opinion of you revealed in His Word.To be chosen by men often means to be chosen at someone else's expense. But God doesn't choose in that way. No, His plan for you does not diminish the lives of others; it enhances them.

In God's plan, those who are chosen are always chosen for one reason - to serve. When we begin to see one another as being chosen by God, we'll begin to love and respect one another in a way we never have before. And that will profoundly change every relationship we've got.