The sentiment of being chosen is such a significant one.
The word "chosen" comes up several times in the bible and is associated with being royalty, being assigned, being suited to a task, being honoured, being preferred. The chosen are associated with a high calling, what some might call "wow" expectations. Naturally vast blessings accompany those expectations. Isaiah 61:1 says, He has "chosen me" and "sent me". The choosing is accompanied by a commission and consequent anticipation that it will be suitably accomplished.
In Christian culture today, we are sometimes conditioned to focussed on the privilege rather than the expectation involving the surrender of our whole life (Romans 12:1). In all honesty, it seems impossible to successfully deliver the mandate as a chosen daughter or son without consideration of t2 paradigms - privilege and expectation.
When an ordinary civilian is furnished with a gun, a bullet proof vest, a shield, a badge, a holster, combat boots and a code of conduct they are no longer ordinary, and they will be pecks that come with the special armoury but also expectation. A true warrior knows and accepts the truth about themselves and constantly meditates on it, this warrior knows they are free from all condemnation and that new consciousness makes then peaceful and nimble. Their spoken word calls things to order in their life because of the authority it carries, and they know they are on the right side, every word contending with them is silenced. Don't know about you but I don't mind being in league with these guys. My 5-year-old would say they sound "pretty cool".
There is nothing ordinary about our existence from the moment the thought to create you and I occurred - fearfully and wonderfully we were made. And though we have crossed over from a naturally poor life to a supernaturally rich one there are hostilities on this side of eternity which need us to remember the expectation placed on us.
But sometimes our acceptance of the privilege we have been born into may take time to sink in - the majesty of it all too great to wear but to get more acquainted with the grace of our calling we must constantly test and approve our weaponry over and over again. Many of us struggle with disentitlement - we don't think we are worthy of the gifts we have been given and we do not bother to use them. We struggle with our peace, with the truth, we can't work out our salvation diligently. Its just exhausting for us because we haven't fully grasped this paradigm of "Privilege". There is nothing you can do to earn it so stop trying - to just receive it. Its funny how we do that in life, we get a gift from someone and spend most of the time after that trying to earn the gift. We need to change the way we receive gifts and more importantly, the way and reason why we give them perhaps that would help with what God has given us so freely. A gift is an expression of honour for the recipient for "who" they are not who they are going to be or who you would prefer them to be!
Once we understand it is what it is - a privilege unearned, underserved it helps take the weight of performance off. I remember when I first started singing in the church choir - it took me years to finally do it (I had all kinds of reservations becoming a church worker, I had never been before). I thought I needed to clean up my act to get there, I thought if I could just get rid of a few things in my life I could be worthy of singing with the choir, I thought if I had a bit more time I could be really faithful with it. I thought it was something I had to do to qualify. Eventually, I took the plunge with all my baggage and mess. The biggest deal was that very quickly I sensed His presence immediately strengthen around me like - like these big bear arms hold me close. He had been waiting all along for me to just step forward in faith. God blow me away with his patience and mercy and He still does it every day of my life. It’s been a roller coaster sometimes and I get it wrong sometimes, but I would rather do life Him than without.
When we truly understand the privilege the weight of expectation is not ours to carry, it is automatically transferred by "faith" to our saviour. He carries the weight on our behalf. So, if this is indeed true why do we face hardships and trials that make us want to tuck tail and run? I think, as we aspire higher in our relationship with Him we go through a consecration, a crushing that ultimately aims to bring us out stronger than we have been.
When we stick with it, the consecration creates alignment with a higher order, higher thinking patterns (as His thoughts are always higher than ours - Isaiah 55:8-11). The alignment, the crushing, pieces us together with kin in the body of Christ and that togetherness makes us productive and fruitful. When we experience this, we are evidently walking in wholeness which in itself seems almost a contradiction - broken up to be made whole. This experience toward our wholeness really enables us to become a lot bolder and we find ourselves living out those expectations of our Creator.
The strength of our pieces together has a glorious ability to call others who are lost back home - you are chosen for this singular reason "to join in the building of a kingdom that truly has no end".
And that my friends is a privilege.
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