YOU ARE CHOSEN AND LOVED
When I need to remember something, I take note of it. I’ll put it in my calendar, add it to a note on my phone, scribble it down on a notepad, pin it to my pinterest board, anything I can do to save it. Sometimes the things I need to remember are different than a phone number, a date, or a recipe. Sometimes I need to remember foundational things like the power of taking a deep breath..or who I am in Christ. Sometimes I will work so hard to remember a birthday (or what color cheese my kids like this week) but I’ll completely forget about the key things that affect my day to day life. I lose track of who I am and how I am seen by God. There have been times in my life where my home is filled with ripped pieces of paper that I have written reminders from scripture and taped in random places. Sometimes, I need more than just the knowledge. I need more than just hearing someone’s words. I need to SEE it. It’s almost like seeing those reminders feels like proof that it’s true.
Ephesians 1 talks about how God loves us and chose us to be “without fault” in his eyes. In this passage, Paul explains that before the world was created, before God spoke any words, before animals, plants, water, light, God had a plan for people and God loved us. God created the world and in his world, he allowed people to have the option to make their own decisions. He didn’t create robots or some sort of programmable being. He created complex individuals who are incredibly unique down to the tiniest cell. No two people are the same. But because we aren’t robots, because we are able to make choices, inevitably, wrong choices would be made. Out of love he made a plan. Jesus. Jesus was his plan.
I grew up hearing about the sacrifice Jesus made and how his death and resurrection brought freedom and eternal life to all those who believed in him-nothing else required. I grew up being told “good works won’t get you into heaven”. I heard it, I said it, I thought I believed it. But what I really envisioned was this: God knows my heart. Before Jesus, he saw my heart was dark-filled with evil, terrible things. When I first started a relationship with Jesus, I was doing “the right thing” and my heart was brightened up-shiny and new. But as I went along with life and started to sin, maybe missed a few days spending time with God, lied to someone, whatever, my heart slowly became a little darker to God until I did enough “good” or had a really “spiritual” encounter with God. Then it would brighten back up again. So while I liked to think I didn’t believe “good works don’t get you into heaven”, that was definitely how I was living my life. I was on an ever spinning cycle of joy, passiveness, guilt.
In college, I had this mind blowing AHA! moment when I realized God doesn’t look at my heart that way. Yes, God sees me and he knows my deepest thoughts and desires whether they are good or bad. BUUUT when I started a relationship with Jesus, when I told God that I knew I did bad things and I knew Jesus took the punishment for those things, God saw me the way he saw Jesus. Jesus took my place in every way. God has been seeing me as “holy and without fault” the entire time! That was seriously such a crazy revelation for me after 15 years of my relationship with Christ, I finally understood a pretty important part of it.
I picked the words chosen and loved because I need to be reminded that God chose to create people. He chose to give me the ability to make my own decisions. He chose to give me eternal life. He chose to create me. I wasn’t an accident. I was carefully thought about. Psalm 139:13 paints such a cool picture of God knitting me together while I was being formed inside my mom. God didn’t do this because he was bored. He didn’t do any of that because he needed some kind of pet project. He did it because he loves me. I am chosen. I am loved.