2 Corinthians 2:13
“God chose you as firstfruits…” In a world where God has disappeared from the forefront, God chose you to represent Him on this planet.
I’m pausing here to let that sink in and I suggest you do the same.
When people share their testimonies, I often hear phrases like this: “I accepted Jesus…”, “I chose Jesus…” Now those phrases aren’t wrong and I’m not here to say that people who use those phrases aren’t real or genuine Christians. I do believe however that there’s a mutual responsibility when it comes to accepting or choosing something. When searching for a job, you must choose to apply for that job in order to be considered for it. But also, in order for your applying to be worth the time and effort, the company must choose to hire you, right? Right. Asking a girl out on a date amounts to nothing unless she agrees to go. Right? Right.
So why do we forget that Jesus chose us first? He certainly didn’t have to die on the cross. It was certainly within His jurisdiction and power to get off the cross as He was mocked to do. He could have teleported or phased or flew or clicked His heels to get back to Heaven at any moment if He really wanted.
He came here with a purpose. His purpose was (and is) you. God could’ve snapped His fingers and eradicated sin from the world at any moment of His choosing. He chose not to so He could demonstrate not only how much He hated sin, but how much He loves you.
We live in a broken world. It always has been and until Jesus returns, it always will be. The best we can do is choose to share what God has given us with those who are in need, even if all we have to give is a listening ear. I believe that people in need have a strange and almost inexplicable way of finding each other. God chose you to help those in need. This Christmas, let’s start being the light this world desperately needs and see how God can work in those moments.
Kevin Wolf has served on summer staff for several years and helps out quite a bit with our communications committee at the camp. He works at Trinity UMC in Mullica Hill.
