Love to be Chosen

February 9

OK, real life confession here...I was watching the Bachelor on TV with friends (I will not give up their identities) and cringed at a scene where the Bachelor chose two girls to be captains and choose teams for baseball. Ugh, the rejection of being a "last chosen" on national TV. Later, I asked my husband, who coached and taught PE for years, if he ever did that. "Absolutely not!" he replied and listed off numerous creative ways to randomly divide up for teams.

The time of year for college acceptances, which can lead to sorority and fraternity acceptances, and boyfriend, girlfriend choices, and then job acceptances is upon us. Life is filled with rejection opportunities that hurt our hearts to the core.

A good reminder for those with hurting hearts is that God CHOSE them! He created them on purpose and wants to communicate with them daily!

There are so many ways we can bring smiles to others and make them feel loved and chosen. I was invited to a banquet where you entered the dining room and chose your seat at tables of eight. Most of the tables were filling up, but there was one table with only one woman sitting there. I had a CHOICE to make. I could sit with the more popular people or I could go sit with this woman, who dressed a bit differently and who appeared to have no friends at this event. Hmm, what would Jesus have done?

I am having a Hallelujah Moment! After starting this blog, I stopped for breakfast and then decided to pass up exercising to do Day 214 in Solo, The Message. The title for the day "Overlooked and Ignored." WOW, it went right along with the chosen theme on my heart.

I will make this a two parter and follow it up with another entry tomorrow which I had started and fits nicely.

Here is the passage from Matthew 25:31-40 Remember, even though God has chosen us we have a reciprocal part to choose Christ!

The Sheep and the Goats

"When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why:

I was hungry and you fed me,

I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,

I was homeless and you gave me a room,

I was shivering and you gave me clothes,

I was sick and you stopped to visit,

I was in prison and you came to me.'

"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'

The Challenge in Solo is this: "As you serve people who are overlooked and ignored, be mindful of the presence of Jesus. See if you can spot him."

How exciting is that!