DAILY READING
DEVOTION/REFLECTION
Chosen to be Sharers in the Promise!
by Tom Richards
Do you remember playing games as a kid where teams had to be selected? (We actually had a ritual with a bat to determine who chose first when playing baseball!) Do you remember what it felt like to wonder if you would be picked? For some, maybe that was never a problem. But for others, maybe you were the youngest, or the smallest, or just not one of the better players. Maybe some thought you were not “worthy” of being picked. But if you were picked, do you remember the relief and excitement that came with knowing that you were chosen – that you were part of the team?
Today we read about a mystery “which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”
Since most of us at UALC are gentiles we need to let these words from Paul sink in. We have been chosen to be on God’s team. No, not God’s team, but chosen to be members of his family! It is not because we deserved to be chosen. It is not because we possessed some special skills or because we were “righteous”. No, it is because of God’s love and grace. Paul refers to this in verse 2 where he says “Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.”
How thankful we are for this undeserved gift. How thankful we are to be chosen, to be desired so much by the God of the universe that he sent his only Son to die on our behalf. John 1:12-13 is a favorite verse of mine that seems to sum this up nicely: "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God." Amen!
PRAYER PRACTICE
Spoken Prayer – Out loud, pray for God to speak to you through your reading. Praise God for giving us His word. Ask the Spirit to help you read with faith, and to live out what you hear from God through the passage.
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