We're Not Only Chosen, We're Also Cherished!

Read: John 12:1-8; Hebrews 12:2

Is it only me or has anyone else noticed that some words seem to have lost their sweetness because we try so hard to figure out all their nuances? For example, the word chosen. The scripture says in more than one place that we were chosen by God before the world was created, Ephesians 1:4. However, in trying to reconcile the sweet truth of being chosen with the other sweet truth of free will, John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9, the wonder of being chosen has been diminished. So, if we may, for today could we revel in the beauty of being chosen and place it alongside another thought. We are also cherished. Another sweet side of the same truth.

First, let's look at the fact that someone could be chosen without being cherished.

An example from my own life. We used to have games where captains chose people for their teams. Obviously, the desire to win caused the captains to choose the most gifted athletes. That pretty much put me and one other person as the last two. I was chosen only because the game wouldn't go on unless everyone was on a team. No cherishing here. Praise God that His choosing is strictly out of love for us.

In the scripture, we read about someone who was also "chosen" but not cherished. In Genesis 29, we are introduced to Leah and Rachel. Oh Leah. Your father tricked Jacob into "choosing" you. You were a disappointment and far from being cherished. Jacob had to keep you as his wife so he could have Rachel. The one he truly cherished. Praise God that we were chosen just because God chose to do so, John 15:16. We were not an afterthought or His second choice. He wasn't stuck with us because it was the only way to get the ones whom He truly desired. Chosen and cherished. Let's turn a corner and look at what cherish looks like. One from my life and then a precious picture from scripture. It was decades ago, and my husband worked for a business in town. He always wore his favorite cologne. The one I gave him each Christmas in his stocking.

One day, one of the other employees told him she didn't like the cologne that he was wearing. She said that she was going to buy him some and that she wanted him to wear it. His response? No. His wife liked that brand, and he would wear no other. Talk about being cherished. No diamond or fancy vacation could have caused me to feel more honored, but the Bible shows us something even more wonderful. How the Lord cherishes those who belong to Him.

In John 12:1-8, we look at an incident that occurred only days before Jesus' crucifixion. Not many days had passed since he had raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus was at a dinner, and His friend Mary of Bethany honored Him by giving Him an unusual gift. She anointed Him with precious ointment. What a hornet's nest that stirred up. Instead of being lauded and appreciated for her loving action, Mary was publicly scolded. Here comes the amazing part. At least to me. Jesus' reaction? He told them to leave her alone. She had done a beautiful thing, and what she had done for Him would be recounted whenever His story was told, Matthew 26:13. Imagine how cherished Mary must have felt when she heard the Savior's words.

In truth, each of us who belong to the Master can hear those words. In Hebrews 12:2, we are told that for the joy that was set before Jesus, He endured the shame of the cross. Having us with Him was the joy Jesus looked towards as He endured the cross. Chosen, not in a sterile and joyless way. Not because he "Had-to do it." We truly are both chosen and cherished. Precious not because of what we can accomplish for Him but simply because we are loved.

If someone has dealt with us in an unloving way which always does hurt, we can remember that the God Who is both Creator and Redeemer says that we are worth dying for. The truth Moses told the children of Israel also applies to us, Deuteronomy 7:7. The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.

We are, just as Israel is, chosen and cherished by Almighty God, and since we did nothing to earn His gracious favor, the Lord will not stop cherishing us, His blood-bought children, John 1:12-13; 1 Peter 1:18-19.