By: Rex Stump
Wauseon, Ohio
I remember as a kid, whenever we would play football in the front yard, basketball in the barn, or dodgeball or kickball at recess, we picked teams. Being the youngest and the slowest, I wasn’t always wanted at first.
It didn’t matter how much I begged, “pick me, pick me!” or how high my hand went, I was at the mercy of the captain who picked. As a kid, I just wanted someone to pick me.
The desire to be picked, to be wanted, is in you and me. It’s no longer dodgeball teams, it’s peer groups, it’s relationships, job opportunities, college admissions, or even part of a church group. We want to be picked.
Consider how we dress, speak, and act just so a desire of being wanted is fulfilled. Our lives are often filled with: if I can do this, or if I could achieve this, or if I looked like this, or if I could have that, then I would be accepted.
Consider how many times we have made decisions based on our desire to be wanted. Sometimes in those moments, we have gone against our spiritual beliefs, our integrity, and convictions.
“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 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 1:3-4
God says, “I want you, I pick you.” Inspired by God’s Spirit, this was written for us to know that the awesome God who spoke the galaxies into existence sent Jesus to die in our place.
He wants you! Literally, we are picked out personally for Himself. It’s unearned. It’s not based on what you do. It’s eternal — from the foundations of the earth.
So, ask yourself, why strive so hard to be picked by people around us, possibly even hiding our faith, just to be wanted, when the God of this universe has clearly shown us that He wants us?
God loves you, and you need to hear this truth! Because He wants you, He pursues you! That’s what you do when you want something — you pursue it. Right now, the fact you are reading this…is part of God’s pursuit to speak to you today.
The truth is that we were all rebels, hostile to God, choosing our own way. Gone astray. We need the forgiveness that only God can provide.
So, we humbly turn from our own ways and turn to the God who loves us and wants a relationship with us. Seek forgiveness through Jesus Christ and begin to walk in the truth of one who is loved, chosen, and forgiven.
“Stay strong, stay focused…stay faithful!”
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Rex Stump is the Area Director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and serves as a Pastor at True North Church in Wauseon, Ohio.