HAND ME DOWN
What it means to be CHOSEN
June 12th, 2023
Colossians 3:12-14, ‘So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.’
Takin’ out the Trash
Beautiful You, no matter what anyone has said to you or about you or done to you, nothing will ever mar what your Father sees in you. He has placed within you a deep well of quenching water, a mine of incredible wealth just waiting to be discovered, a treasure chest of untold riches. You are more than acceptable in His sight. In fact, you are so far and high above ‘acceptable’. Acceptable denotes adequacy and sufficiency. So even if someone whose opinion of you mattered said you are decent and tolerable, you can rest assure, in your Father’s eyes, you are enchanting, delightful and captivating, cherished and saved and died for, because you are the chosen child of a King.
See, this world will eat you up and spit you out. It is harsh. It is unkind. The ruler of this planet is the father of lies, and he is literally hellbent on destruction of anyone who might possibly succumb instead to the hole within themselves that a Holy God placed there to be filled solely with Himself. There is an enemy who is lurking beneath crevices inside of us, and behind hidden footholds within, whose desire is for you and I to hate ourselves, and covet after others, so we see nothing beautiful inside and, rather, chase after all the false pretenses this life dangles before us. He is the craftiest quick-change artist because He will tease and tempt you; he’ll tell you all the lies you wish were true, and then he will turn on you and cause you to look at yourself through your mirror, not the lens of your Father. This enemy is a mimic and a fraud, and he wants to destroy any sense of self-worth and self-love. He wants you to doubt every word your Father has spoken over you.
But He reminds us of His great love and of His delight in us in His Word. ‘The Lord your God is in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.’ (Zephaniah 3:17, NKJV) Perhaps you have sheltered yourself in a secluded place because you have only ever been used and taken advantage of and hurt. Maybe someone you loved greatly, walked out on you. Maybe someone who said they loved you gave up on you, left, ran away, or even tip-toed. Maybe your dad said you were a mistake, or your mom was the one to leave. Perhaps everyone who you ever hoped to rely on has abandoned you, abused you; thrown you away like a piece of trash, or discarded you like a hand-me-down. But your Father in Heaven, He sees you; He is glad about you, and He wants you and chooses you day after day, even when no one else does.
Psalm 18:19, ‘He stood me up in a wide-open field. I stood there saved, surprised to be loved!’ (MSG)
you are His REMNANT
