PICK ME!

Sunday devotional 6/3/12

As a child when kids would gather together to play a game that involved dividing up into teams, there was always a lot of positioning to get picked for the best team, or sometimes just to be with friends on the same team.  "Pick me! Pick me!" The last few picked were always the weak, sickly or overweight - ones who could not play the game as well.  The first ones picked were the strong, the fast, the agile who played well or at least looked like they could play well.

As a teen there was a lot of primping and preening in hopes to be coupled with a nice date for a party or dance.  The teens who didn't care about how they looked often never got asked to a dance or prom.  The ones who were always ill or did not have the best of complexions or left their hair dirty and unkempt were not even in the running.  Their looks or their actions or their health even didn't say "Pick me!"

As a young adult when it came time to apply for work, the ones who paid attention to their appearance and presentation generally did better at landing a good job than ones who came into an interview with sloppy clothes, messy hair, vulgar tattoos, or when they were sick and coughing or sneezing.  We have all learned that first impressions mean a lot. They can say that phrase, "Pick me!" or not.

As a human being, whom does God choose?  The person who has done all kinds of good in the world and feels they deserve to be chosen?  The church leader who has built a mega-church and has a great following because he is a great speaker?  The addict who is broken in spirit and lost everything due to the addiction?  The murderer who is sent to prison and then repents?

Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:31-32 NIV

Funny thing is, ALL those I mentioned above are sinners, but they have to realize that and repent of their sinfulness with God's help.  If they believe they are already healthy without God, they will never really be able to see their sickness in order to repent.  God desires all to be saved and offers it freely to everyone - we don't even have to shout "Pick me!" - but some reject it.  May we never be so sick that we think we are healthy on our own!  

written by Jan Andersen