“I AM: CHOSEN IN CHRIST”
Yesterday we discovered that in Christ, we receive every spiritual blessing that Jesus receives. God sees us as beloved sons and daughters because that is how he sees Jesus. God is pleased with us since he is pleased with Jesus.
Despite its beauty, our new identity in Christ can seem too good to be true. “It is hard for me to believe that kind of love,” we say. “I don’t feel it.”
SCIENTIFIC LAW
When I was a kid, my friends and I climbed to the top of a water tower in our town. In the middle of this adventure, I discovered something very important: I am terrified of heights.
While the rest of my buddies were enjoying the view, I was staring at the ground, terrified that I would plummet to my death. I hid my fear from my friends, but I was the first one down the ladder. I couldn’t wait to get to the ground.
99% of the time, I never think about gravity. But on that water tower, I realized that my life depended on me respecting Newton’s Law. Gravity is a scientific fact that brings order to our universe. It exists regardless of how we feel about it.
In Christ, we receive every spiritual blessing that Jesus receives.
In much the same way, our identity in Christ is a spiritual law. God spoke it, so it’s true. Our emotions and circumstances change from day to day, but God’s Word never changes.
Even if we don’t feel like it, our new identity is true in Christ.
When we respect the law of gravity, we flourish. In the same way, blessing enters our lives when we order our hearts and minds around God’s spiritual law.
THINK BIGGER
When it comes to our new reality, God wants us to think bigger. Way bigger.
In Ephesians, we read that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ [in Christ] (Ephesians 1:3 NLT). Paul claims that, much like finding a room of hidden treasure, we have untold spiritual riches in Christ.
God wants us to think bigger. Way bigger.
We will be uncovering our spiritual blessings for our entire lives. But today, we’ll focus on one piece of treasure. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. (Ephesians 1:4 NLT)
Let’s discover what it means to be chosen in Christ.
REJECTION
Our world is full of rejection. From an early age, we experience it:
- A friend spoke a hurtful word years ago, but we still believe it.
- We realize we were the only ones that weren’t invited.
- Our dad walked out on the family.
- Someone else was chosen for the internship.
- We loved them so much, but they walked away.
I don’t know everything you’ve been through, but I know that most of us have experienced at least one moment of deep rejection. And I know it hurts like hell.
Psychology Today claims that “the same areas of the brain become activated when we experience rejection as when we experience physical pain.” In fact, “we can relive and re-experience social pain more vividly than we can experience physical pain.” In other words, remembering rejection is more painful than remembering an injury to our bodies.
Most of us have experienced at least one moment of deep rejection. And it hurts like hell.
Often, we (with the help of our enemy, Satan) internalize rejection and give it a place of power in our lives. We allow rejection to write our stories. “If they don’t love me, that means I am not loveable,” we say. “Since they rejected me, I must be worthless.”
This becomes a vicious spiral. Each subsequent rejection, no matter how small, reinforces the story that we believe. Soon, our outlook is radically warped because of the pain we’ve experienced.
To hide from the hurt, we self-medicate or pursue achievement to try and change our stories. But no matter how hard we strive, we can’t seem to change the narrative in our minds. We can temporarily numb the pain, but we can’t destroy it.
CHOSEN, NOT FORSAKEN
Only Jesus can change our story. Here are five ways our identity in Christ transforms the narrative of rejection in our lives.
For every Christian reading these words, know this: Our holy, magnificent, glorious God chose us.
First, in Christ, we were chosen by God. Take a moment and consider that reality. God created the universe. He spoke galaxies into existence. He is more powerful than any ruler, more influential than any celebrity, more beautiful than anything our eyes have seen. His glory cannot be understood.
For every Christian reading these words, know this: Our holy, magnificent, glorious God chose us.
God knew how our darkest days would unfold and still said, “I choose you”.
Second, God chose us before the world began.
Before a single atom of the universe was created, God looked through the centuries of history and saw you and I. He knew everything about our greatest accomplishments and our most shameful secrets. He knew how our darkest days would unfold and still said, “I choose you”.
Third, this means that we cannot boast before God. David Guzzik writes that “believers are chosen by God, and they are chosen before they have done anything or have been anything.”
God did not choose us because we are awesome. He did it because it brought him great joy. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. (Ephesians 1:5 NLT)
God is far more committed to us than we are to him.
Fourth, this shows that God is far more committed to us than we are to him (hopefully that phrase is starting to sound familiar).
You and I have to make a conscious, daily choice to follow Jesus. Our will is involved. We can reject the grace of God. But before we ever chose God, he selected us. We did not have to talk him into it. He desperately wanted us to be a part of his family.
Finally, God’s choice was incredibly costly to him. God purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son (Ephesians 1:7 NLT). Someone had to die for our sins. God loved us enough that he sent Jesus to die so that we wouldn’t have to.
A NEW STORY FOR US TO BELIEVE
Ironically, the story of rejection is half-true. We aren’t worthy. We aren’t loveable.
Thankfully, that’s only half the story. Though we don’t deserve it, God chose us. He wants us to be a part of his family.
Ironically, the story of rejection is half-true.
No one ever has to worry that they aren’t chosen. Scripture says that God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16 NLT). He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent (2 Peter 3:9 NLT).
The primary narrative of our lives is not rejection. In Christ, God chose us.
NEXT STEPS
1: Read Mark 11.
2: Before you spend time in Solitude, ask God to show you any lies you have believed about rejection in your life. Spend 10 minutes in Solitude, reflecting on Ephesians 1:3. Pray using the P-R-A-Y method.
3: Continue to pray and plan to share your testimony with the 1-2 people in your life who don’t know Jesus over the next 2 weeks.
4: Text one friend one thing that you learned