chosen.

"You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its remotest parts and said to you, 'You are my servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you."  ~ Isaiah 41:9

Those are some pretty strong verbs, aren't they?  So many times I'm guilty of viewing God as more passive than active.  Does He really just leave us to stumble around in the dark with groping hands until we happen upon Him by chance?

I don't think so.

And according to this prophecy by Isaiah, God doesn't think so either.

My bible has a footnote next to the word "taken" in verse 9 that says "or taken hold of."  I keep envisioning God's mighty hand literally scooping His children up and keeping them at His side.  That's a very comforting thought to me.

But He has also called the ones He takes hold of.  He calls His children to a more abundant life through the saving knowledge that His Son Jesus died for the sins of the world. After the Holy Spirit fell on Peter and the other apostles, a crowd of people gathered and became repentant as a result of the words God spoke through Peter.  He told the people that "the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself" (Acts 2:39).  Whether He uses a still, small voice or a blasting shofar, God calls His children to Himself.  He is also willing to go to the most "remotest parts" for those of us who are "far off."  That's also comforting to me; no matter how far you've run from God, you're never too far away to hear His voice, and you're just one step away from His promise.

Perhaps the most comforting part of verse 9 is the fact that we are chosen as God's children.  This is not a random process, there are no "stowaways" that sneak into His kingdom, and He has chosen you for a purpose:  to be "His possession" (Deuteronomy 7:6).  He loves you so much that He wants to keep you and show you off!  When you answer God's call and fulfill your destiny as one of His chosen ones, you're not just a citizen of His kingdom.  Think about that.  Basically all you have to do to be a citizen of a country is to be born there, yet just because you're a citizen of the United States does not mean that you know the President and all him your friend.  Being God's chosen means that He desires an intimate relationship with you, a nurturing and loving one where He molds and shapes you into who He wants you to be within His kingdom.  He chooses us because He loves us that much.

As I close today, let me drive this point home:  we also have an active part in being chosen.  God chooses us, but we must choose Him as well.  Jesus said, "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14).  This statement concludes a parable in which a king, after finding that all of his wealthy guests ignored his invitation to a feast, chose the poor people in his kingdom to attend his feast instead.  The king called the wealthy guests to himself, but they "paid no attention and went on their way" (verse 5).  It was the poor people, the "second string" of invites, that made it to the feast, because they chose to accept the king's invitation.  Have you chosen God?  Even if you feel poor in spirit, He still wants you and longs to take hold of you.