I’m not feelin’ anything ’bout bein’ chosen today.
I say, I’m not feelin’ anything ’bout bein’ chosen today.
I’m wonderin’ then, is the good Lord tellin’ me a different way?
I Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
I used to get a lot of comfort from being “chosen.” I guess it just came along with the package of being saved. That was how I was taught: God chose me, like an adopted child, I was pulled from the fray.
So, why, after thirty years of contentment, am I uncomfortable now? Why does it feel a little uppity and “I’m better than you” [see Urban Dictionary]. Gosh, I could get a coffee mug with that phrase or I could put WWJD on it or some other Christian cliche. Is there a difference? I’m in and you’re out; Red Rover, Red Rover, let one more of my friends come over.
Can I put a spin on this that won’t be catty?
Maybe it’s a privilege thing. I get some clarity and because of it, I can share what I see. It’s a responsibility thing?
I guess, I am more comfortable in the thanksgiving mode: thank you God for saving my soul. And it weren’t for You, I’d probably be dead. My twenties were a downward spiral because I was experiencing the other kind of blues: the “non-chosen” blues for not being in the right group, not getting chosen for parts on plays, not being a success, not handling my relationships well, etc. When I experienced the Christ, I didn’t feel particularly chosen then either, just switched over to a different game where those other situations didn’t matter as much.
Just because I’m sure that I’m sure that I’m sure that God is real and Christ is real and the Holy Spirit is real and I have a chance to “become” in a way that I never could before or ever wanted to before, does make me want to talk about it and write about it, but chosen?
Of course, I know God is sovereign and maybe there is a “choosing” dimension to all of this. But for now . . . I’ll leave the discussion to others.
Meditations from Zion 
Woody Guthrie has written (may not be verbatim, cited from memory): “I went to church and they were all singing Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus. Then I went to the ball game and they were all shouting, Sit down, for Christ’s sake! Now I want to know, does the good Lord want me to stand up or sit down?”
You and I think a lot alike, Irm.
LOL. We gonna hafta meet. On my next trip to NYC, maybe I can swing through your part of the world … NJ isn’t it? Ib