WHY DID GOD CHOOSE YOU?
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.
(1 Corinthians 1:27-29)
As a boy I remember going to the park and playing "pick up" basketball. Two of the better players would oppose each other and then choose their teammates from other players out there at the time. Obviously, the best players would be chosen first. Often, I realized that I was only chosen because the competition was not too strong at the time. If I was lucky, I would get on a team where my teammates were real good players and we would win in spite of my play. Sometimes I was chosen when there were others who could play better than I could. I remember asking once in that situation, "why did you choose me?" I remember the leader saying, "because you don't think you are so good that you will be selfish with the ball." Selfish players do not make good team players. They believe that they are inherently better than everyone else and can make it by themselves.
In the passage above, it appears that God is not choosing those who believe that they are inherently great. On the contrary, people who realize that they are sinners in need of a Savior are good candidates to be chosen by God. Theologians often refer to God's people as the "elect." The "doctrine of election" forms one of the bases of our salvation. It holds that God chooses us based on foreseen faith. In essence, God is able to look down the corridor of time and in His foreknowledge see who will accept Christ and who will not. Those who will accept Christ are elected by Him to salvation. In essence, God chooses those who will accept His Son Jesus Christ as their Savior.
The world view is to select from individuals who have high breeding and influence. But God turns the world's standards upside down and usually chooses the ordinary, that no one may boast before Him unless they are boasting in the Lord.
WHY DID GOD CHOOSE YOU? Well if you are like me, you will probably agree with the following statements:
1. We are not so good that we can make it by ourselves.
2. We want to be "team players" on God's team.
3. We know that we need the Savior, Jesus Christ, in our lives.
4. Our faith is in Jesus Christ alone and all Glory belongs to Him.
Whatever the reason may be, I AM SO GLAD THAT HE DID CHOOSE ME!