Unchosen

    “And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” Acts 1:24-26 

   Society will tell us that to be unchosen is to be rejected. We are conditioned from childhood that if we are not first, we are first loser. The thought of not being selected is immediately associated with a failure on our part and we can quickly begin to feel less than others. When considering a worldly view of unchosen there is little doubt it defines an outcast. To add to the pressure, it is undeniable there are considerably more people that will be unchosen than chosen. The NFL is made up of only 32 teams and though all parents of a grasscutter hold the hope their child will make it big one day, most will be unchosen. Of the high school football players in the United States 6.5% of those high school players (or 71,060) will play in college. The drop off from college to the pros is even more dramatic: only 1.2% college-level players will get drafted to the NFL.

   This hopeless mindset can cause stress, anxiety, and depression. So, what do we do? Just suck it up and accept the fact that we will not succeed at an early age to prevent disappointment in the future?

   The answer is found in what we desire to be chosen for. The Lord has a different view on being unchosen. He calls all unto salvation and declares whosoever call on Christ shall be saved. His invitation to become a child of God is not limited to a select few.

   After salvation God begins to fine tune our calling and place us so that we can be most effective for His kingdom. This can be seen as unchosen as we see in our scripture regarding Joseph. The world sees him as loosing; however, God has just confirmed a different calling for his life. If God closes a door, He will open another door. If we could begin to look with the eyes of Christ it becomes clear God has a different calling in our lives and to follow this path would not be in His will. Not everyone is chosen to pastor a church or serve as a deacon. This is not degrading to those who are not, it merely helps define God’s calling in your life. Know that He is working and will share His plan for your life. Trust He will place us so that we can be most effective for Christ.

   In closing, never forget no one calling is greater than another. You are important to God and whatever you are chosen to do give it you all and God’s blessings will follow.